US snow storm ‘kills 46’ as bomb cyclone devastates North America

Sami Quadri26 December 2022

At least 46 people have now died following a huge snowstorm that has plunged the US into a deep freeze.

Storm Elliott has also led to four further deaths in the Canadian province of British Columbia after a bus rolled over on icy roads.

The bomb cyclone has caused temperatures to plunge with up to 250 million people facing severe ice, snow, wind and power cuts.

The icy blast has covered an area of 2,000 miles with officials in the state of New York reporting 18 fatalities.

New York governor Kathy Hochul said: “No matter how many emergency vehicles we have, they cannot get through.”

In the Buffalo area, nearly four feet of snow fell at the airport on Sunday which caused more than 2,360 domestic and international flights to be cancelled.

Temperatures even plummeted to as low as -10C in the usually balmy southern states of Florida and Georgia.

In Erie County, Ohio, ambulances were taking up to three hours to get to hospital. Four people were killed in a 50-vehicle pile-up in the county on Friday.

Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz said: "This is not the Christmas any of us hoped for nor expected."

A driver died in Kansas City, Missouri, after he skidded into a creek.

On Christmas Eve, more than 273,000 New England residents were without power and 169,000 in North Carolina.

President Joe Biden last week called the weather catastrophe “dangerous and threatening”.

In Canada, temperatures ranged from -28C in the northwest, to potentially as low as -30C in the Yukon territory.

Following the bus crash on Christmas Eve which killed four, 36 needed treatment, eighth whom remained in hospital on Christmas Day.

Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau said: “To Canadians affected by winter weather across the country — please stay safe.

“Crews are working hard to clear roads, restore power, and bring services back online. Let’s check in on our friends and neighbours to ask how they’re doing and see if they need anything.”

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