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Nothing works here: In the US state of Virginia, thousands of people had to wait in traffic jams for more than 24 hours - at temperatures around freezing point.
Interstate 95, one of the busiest roads on the east coast, had been closed in both directions since Monday evening.
Heavy snowfall and black ice in the southeastern United States led to accidents on the highway and paralyzed all traffic.
The desperation of many drivers grew by the hour, including Isaac Arcos.
After some time in a traffic jam on the icy road, the 23-year-old soldier suspected that it would not be just a short stop.
Isaac Arcos, U.S. Marine:
“I gave up. I will not fight it. I will accept that I will be here this time. And I was kind of jealous of the people who could drive through the snow, the SUVs. "
Arcos reports that people helped each other in traffic jams.
Truck drivers provided additional food and blankets, and volunteers quickly came to the rescue.
But they had to wait a long time for the authorities.
The Virginia state government has been heavily criticized for its reluctance to provide aid.
One reproach: the National Guard could have been activated much earlier.
Isaac Arcos, U.S. Marine:
“I don't think you did a good job. They could have prepared if they knew about the weather. As far as I know, they knew 14 to 18 hours beforehand. You could definitely have sprinkled the streets. Or maybe even close the motorways. "
Traffic slowly started moving again on Tuesday afternoon.
The Democratic US Senator Tim Kaine was also stuck in the huge traffic jam.
He tweeted from the line of cars after 19 hours.
Finally he reached his destination in Washington - after a total of 27 hours of driving time.
The responsible traffic authority now apologized to those affected and announced that they would "thoroughly investigate the reasons for the incident."
