New Delhi, Jan 5: A monster blizzard, being described as “bomb cyclone” by some meteorologists, has battered US Northeast rendering thousands of houses and offices without electricity. Unprecedented snowfall in the region forced cancellation of thousands of flights across the region.
Almost 80,000 homes and businesses in the Northeast and Southeast, where the storm struck, were without power, reports said. At least 14 deaths have been reported in the past few days due to the adverse weather conditions. (Also Read: First Florida snow in 29 years as major storm hits US)
The blizzard has forced emergency services to be activated along the East Coast. The US State Department of Defense said in a statement that 200 National Guard members have been deployed in NEw York state alone to help people in distress.
“This is a serious, serious storm. We expect tough conditions for days to come, particularly in terms of cold,” the New York Times quoted New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio, as saying.
Governor Andrew M Cuomo of New York has declared a state of emergency for Westchester, New York City and Long Island and speed restrictions have been imposed in certain areas because of powerful wintry winds.
Thousands of Flights Cancelled
The blizzard has thrown air traffic in the region out of gear as over 5,000 US airline flights were cancelled. All flights at New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) and LaGuardia airports had to be halted for because of heavy snowfall.
Amtrack train services were also hit. Several bogies of an Amtrak train carrying more than 300 people from Miami to New York derailed in Savannah, Georgia. However, it was not clear whether the snow storm caused the accident.