The death toll in the ferocious winter storm that hit the United States last week rose to 61. Two more deaths were reported from New York on Thursday, bringing the total death toll in the region to 39, the executive said. Erie County, Mark Poloncarz.
New York remained one of the regions hardest hit by the “once-in-a-generation” storm, with the city of Buffalo recording the most deaths.
Of the 39 deaths, 17 were found outside, 11 in homes, four in cars, four died while shoveling or removing snow and three were the result of emergency services failing to reach them in time, Poloncarz said, reports the AFP news agency. .
In the midwestern state of Ohio, nine deaths were recorded in car accidents that occurred due to the freak storm. At least half a dozen other states also reported deaths.
Meanwhile, questions are being raised against the authorities’ response, with Poloncarz calling the city’s handling “shameful.”
Criticism is directed specifically at the delay in issuing the travel ban order by officials.
US Winter Storm: Buffalo Begins Clean Up After Christmas Blizzard
The storm also brought unusually cold temperatures to states including Texas and Florida and caused chaos at airports, with thousands of flights delayed or cancelled.
With temperatures now gradually coming back to normal and the snow beginning to melt, New York officials are concerned about flooding, but the county executive said “it doesn’t look like it’s going to be bad.”
“Fortunately, it looks like the flooding will be minimal,” Poloncarz said, adding that power had been restored to all county residents.
Elsewhere in Canada, where the storm is still raging, residents are still battling power outages, including some 19,000 customers in the province of Quebec.
In Ontario, more than 10,000 customers were still without power, according to power provider Hydro One.
(With agency contributions)
