Storm death toll in New York state rises to 37

New York, Dec 28 (EFE).- The winter storm death toll in New York’s northwestern Erie County rose to 37 on Wednesday, while the region tried to get back to something resembling normal.

Winter Storm Elliott has dumped huge quantities of snow throughout the region, and the area’s top official, Mark Poloncarz, said that the Erie County Health Department had confirmed another three storm-related deaths.

The three latest victims come after three other deaths were announced Wednesday morning, on top of the 31 fatalities that had been announced on Tuesday.

Of those people, 17 were found out on the streets, nine died due to lack of heating in their homes, four were found in a vehicles trapped in the snow, four more died of heart problems and three died because emergency services could not reach them in time.

Poloncarz also emphasized that several of the dead remained “unidentified” at present and offered his sincere condolences to all those who have lost loved ones due to the storm.

Meanwhile, local authorities continued their recovery and snow removal work, above all in the city of Buffalo, the capital of Erie County, where vehicular traffic remained prohibited for the time being.

Buffalo police said that 450 snow removal machines are working to clear the city streets and the mayor, Byron Brown, announced the opening of 11 bus lines, along with the local train service.

Brown also said that of the 100,000 households that had found themselves without electricity due to the story just 500 still have not gotten their power back on.

Poloncarz also emphasized that several centers had been opened to provide food to people who cannot move about the city to get to local stores.

Elliott has resulted in more than 50 deaths around the country and motivated President Joe Biden to declare an emergency for New York state to facilitate the provision of the federal aid needed to alleviate the effects of the storm and attend to those affected by it.

EFE

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