Arctic blast, blizzards leave 59 dead in US, Canada

NEW YORK – A massive winter storm has resulted in the death of more than 50 people in the United States and neighbouring Canada.

The US has recorded 55 fatalities, with western New York state as the hard-hit region where at least 25 have died in multiple incidents related to blizzards of the century.

Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz told media that 25 people had died there as result of the storm in the county where state of emergency has been declared.

“This is a horrible situation,” he said, explaining that some people found dead in snow banks or in their cars.

The record-breaking blizzard stranded motorists on roads, deprived thousands of people from electricity and made it difficult for emergency services to continue their work.

Reports said as many as 1.8 million properties were knocked out of power in the US by the devastating storm, with thousands of flights cancelled and delayed.

In Canada, the number of homes without power is around 140,000 homes and most of them are in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Four people were killed on Christmas Eve after a bus overturned due to icy conditions on a road near Vancouver.

In Japan, heavy snow killed 17 people and injured nearly 100 while knocking hundreds of homes out of power, disaster management officials told media.

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