Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: At least 59 people have been killed so far as the severe winter storm continues to batter the United States (US) and Canada.
The US has recorded 55 deaths, with a further four fatalities after a passenger bus rolled over on icy roads in the British Columbia province of Canada.
Of the US fatalities, 25 are from Erie County in New York state, where Buffalo city has been hit hard by the snowstorm, its numbing cold, and heavy “lake-effect” snow – the result of frigid air moving over warmer lake waters.
United States National Weather Service
The US National Weather Service said that around four feet of snow fell at the airport of Buffalo by Sunday, adding that snow was falling at two to three inches rate an hour south of the city.
The region’s storm victims include people stranded in cars, left freezing in white-out conditions while would-be rescuers struggled against the weather to help.
During the weekend, New York governor Kathy Hochul said that many state and fire trucks ambulances were stuck in the heavy snow.
Buffalo police department posted an appeal online seeking snowmobile owners to assist with rescue and search efforts.
Over 55 million United States citizens are under weather alerts
At its worst, at least 1.8 million properties were without electricity in the United States, with thousands of flights cancelled and delayed.
However, the number of homes without electricity is now nearly 150,000, although over 55 million American citizens remained under wind chill alerts on Sunday.
In Canada, as many as 140,000 homes are without electricity, most in Ontario and Quebec provinces.
Four persons were killed on Christmas Eve after a bus rolled over on an icy road near Loon Lake, about 200 miles from Vancouver’s east.
By early afternoon, eight people remained in the hospital on Christmas Day, two in serious condition.
Canada’s meteorological agency said temperatures would remain low this week in many parts of the country.
