Snowstorm in the USA: Military police to enforce driving ban in Buffalo

Enlarge image

Street Scene in Buffalo, New York State

Photo: JOED VIERA / AFP

The snow is meters high, it is extremely cold – in the US city of Buffalo in western New York state, no private trips are currently allowed due to a heavy snowstorm.

Now the military police should help to enforce the driving ban.

"Too many people are ignoring the ban," the Democrat said at a press conference.

»I don't know what else to say about this [...] I beg you: stay at home«.

Poloncarz wrote on Twitter: "You can go out and walk to check on neighbors, go to open shops and so on.

But don't drive.'

Nationwide, more than 52 people died in connection with Arctic winter storm Elliott, ABC reported.

The broadcaster CNBC even put the number of fatalities at 64. "Elliott" had brought meter-high snow, temperatures in the double-digit minus range and hurricane-force winds to large parts of the USA over the Christmas weekend.

The region around the Great Lakes in the north-east of the USA and on the border with Canada was particularly affected.

Hundreds of thousands of homes were affected by power outages.

»Unfortunately, we are still recovering dead people«

At least 28 people died in Erie County alone, which is also where the hardest-hit city of Buffalo is located, as Poloncarz announced on Twitter.

However, the authorities expected more victims on Tuesday who could be buried under the snow masses.

"Unfortunately, we're still recovering bodies," the Buffalo police chief told CNN.

The driving ban applies to several districts on the east shore of Lake Erie, which is one of the so-called Great Lakes.

This applies above all because the few halfway cleared roads are often only one-lane passable - rescue workers and clearing machines need the space.

On the other hand, there are gusts of wind in the storm with speeds of up to almost 50 kilometers per hour.

This can lead to so-called whiteouts, in which drivers are completely surrounded by the snow flurry and can lose their orientation.

The New York Department of Transportation tweeted images of snow removal vehicles fighting their way through the snow on icy roads and of trucks and cars going off the road in the snow and getting stuck in the deep snow.

Governor Hochul had already declared a state of emergency for the state of New York last week.

President Biden assured the state of federal support on Tuesday night.

"My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones this holiday weekend," President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter.

New York governor Kathy Hochul spoke of a "historic snowstorm".

The US weather service warned Tuesday morning (local time) of further snowfall coming from Lake Erie over Erie County and adjacent counties.

The Arctic cold front also messed up the Christmas plans of many travelers: According to the flight data website »FlightAware«, more than 10,000 flights were canceled from Friday to Sunday.

For the coming days, the weather service predicted milder temperatures for the central west and east of the country.

But that's not necessarily an all-clear: If the snow melts, flooding could occur, authorities fear.

In Buffalo and the surrounding area, some streets would be cleared so that meltwater could drain later in the week, district official Poloncarz wrote on Twitter.

kko/dpa/AP