a winter storm hits and blocks part of the country

For many Americans, the Christmas weekend was turned upside down by a violent winter storm accompanied by extreme temperatures, which caused massive power cuts and already caused the death of more than a dozen people.

Nearly 750,000 homes were without power on Saturday afternoon, December 24, according to Poweroutage.usespecially in North Carolina, and in Maine, where temperatures were largely negative.

Transport was notably disrupted by this historic storm which has affected the country since Wednesday. More than 5,500 flights were canceled on Friday. Which represented 20% of air traffic that day, tweeted US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

More than 2,600 flights were again canceled on Saturday, notably at Detroit and Minneapolis airports, according to the specialist site flightaware. But according to the United States Aviation Authority (FAA) “The strongest disturbances are behind us, and companies and airports will gradually recover”, Mr. Buttigieg explained. Many travelers thus found themselves hoping for a Christmas miracle, in the form of a last-minute seat on a plane that would allow them to arrive in time for the celebrations.

“Hundreds” of people blocked

In many states, the roads have become impassable or very dangerous, causing sometimes fatal accidents. In Ohio, four people have died in storm-related crashes, Gov. Mike DeWine said. In total, authorities have confirmed at least 17 deaths, across eight states.

“In the most affected places, there are no emergency services available, including in the city of Buffalo”, in the State of New York, said Saturday morning at a press conference, Mark Poloncarz, responsible for the county of Erie. Two people died of medical problems because they could not be rescued, he said.

The day before, a travel ban had been pronounced in this region. But hundreds of people still found themselves trapped in their vehicles, “including people who tried to go out late last night”, Mr. Poloncarz said on Saturday. The National Guard has been sent to rescue these people, who are stranded in extremely dangerous conditions.

“Don’t leave your vehicle!” » tweeted local weather services. “Tie a piece of clothing to your antenna or window to indicate that you need help”they recommended.

Canada also affected

The pressure on the power grid was also extremely high due to the very low temperatures. The operator in a dozen states in the American northeast, PJM, called on the population to reduce their consumption all day Saturday, in order to avoid cuts.

The storm is expected to last through the weekend, before temperatures return to seasonal norms by the middle of next week, the US Weather Service (NWS) said. Until then, “If you must travel or be outdoors, prepare for extreme cold by wearing several layers of clothing, and covering as much skin as possible”he wrote on Saturday. “In places, being outside could cause frostbite within minutes. » The strong winds still forecast, with gusts sometimes at more than 95 hm / h, risk causing further damage, such as trees falling on power lines.

Canada was also affected by the storm, where all provinces had weather alerts in place. Hundreds of thousands of people were without power in Ontario and Quebec, and airports in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal were affected by flight cancellations.