Savage US blizzard leaves over 30 dead, many suffer power outages, travel snarls; check details

Winter blizzard brought Christmas Day danger and misery to millions of Americans on Sunday (December 26) as frigid cold gripped parts of the eastern United States, with weather-related deaths rising to at least 31.

In western New York's Buffalo, a crisis situation took place where a blizzard left the city marooned, with emergency services unable to reach high impact areas.

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Speaking to reporters, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a native of Buffalo, where eight-foot (2.4-meter) snow drifts and power outages have made for life-threatening conditions said, "It is (like) going to a warzone, and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking."

Hochul also said that the residents were still in the throes of a "very dangerous life-threatening situation" and warned anyone in the area to remain indoors.

More than 200,000 people across several eastern states woke up without power on Christmas morning and many more had their holiday travel plans upended, although the five-day-long storm featuring blizzard conditions and ferocious winds showed signs of easing.

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The extreme weather sent wind chill temperatures in all 48 contiguous US states below freezing over the weekend, stranded holiday travelers with thousands of flights canceled and trapped residents in ice- and snow-encrusted homes.

It is reportedly said that as many as thirty-one weather-related deaths have been confirmed across nine states, including four in Colorado who likely died of exposure and at least 12 in New York state, where officials warned the number would likely rise.

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