01/20/2024 – 15:53
Winter storms are already hitting several parts of the country, leaving thousands without power and canceling flights. Temperatures are expected to drop even further this weekend. The extreme cold that is ravaging the United States has already caused dozens of deaths, many of them due to hypothermia or traffic accidents, the press and American authorities reported.
According to the AP news agency, at least 55 people died across the country in the last week due to extreme weather conditions.
The southern state of Tennessee alone recorded 19 deaths, including a 25-year-old man who was found dead on the floor of a trailer after the heater tipped over and turned off, according to law enforcement officials. “There was ice on the walls,” said the deputy chief of the local police station.
In Pennsylvania, five women from the same family died after a traffic accident on a highway, police reported. They ranged in age from 19 to 71 and were returning home after a pilgrimage to Mecca.
In southeastern Kentucky, there have been five weather-related deaths, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement Friday (1/19).
In Oregon, in the American northwest, three people were electrocuted when a power line fell on their car during an ice storm on Wednesday.
Deaths were also reported in Illinois, Kansas, New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin and Washington state, where five people are believed to have succumbed to exposure to the cold, local media reported, citing Seattle officials.
In the midst of winter in the northern hemisphere, much of the USA has been hit by very low temperatures, intense snow and ice storms, as well as strong winds.
The extreme conditions have already closed schools, cut off power and water supplies to thousands of people and disrupted air travel. More than 1,100 flights were canceled on Friday and another 8,000 were delayed, according to the website Flightaware.com.
Temperatures are only expected to rise next week
Millions of Americans are now preparing for another weekend of severe weather, with extreme cold even reaching the southern US, a region not used to low temperatures.
Temperatures are expected to drop to -26°C over the weekend in much of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Kansas, the National Weather Service predicted.
The agency also warned of the danger of falling trees and power lines already covered in ice. “Stay safe in the coming days as our region attempts to thaw,” the organization said. “Chunks of ice about to fall will also remain a danger.”
A respite from the cold is not expected until next week, when the forecast calls for above-average temperatures across most of the country, according to the weather service.
ek (AP, AFP, Reuters)
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