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Death toll from 'bomb cyclone' sweeping across North America jumps to 50

Monday, 26 December 2022 11:14 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 26 December 2022 11:25 AM ]

Snow covers New York City due to harsh blizzard hitting the region over Christmas. (Photo by AP)

The death toll in brutal Arctic blizzards sweeping across North America has jumped to 50, bringing misery to millions of Americans during the holiday season, with authorities warning that the toll could mount further.

The Christmas storm, described as a "bomb cyclone", that has engulfed much of the United States and Canada has reportedly knocked out power to several hundred thousand homes and businesses.

The US has recorded 46 of all deaths resulting from the deadly winter storm, including those stranded in their cars due to the storm and whiteout conditions, Sky News reported on Monday.

Another four people died after a bus rolled over on icy roads in the Canadian province of British Columbia, reports said.

Rescuers struggled against the weather to help during the Christmas weekend. New York governor Kathy Hochul said that many of the state's ambulances and fire trucks were stuck in the snow.

According to reports, much of the loss of life has centered in and around Buffalo at the edge of Lake Erie in western New York, as numbing cold and heavy "lake-effect" snow -- the result of frigid air moving over warmer lake waters -- persisted through the holiday weekend.

Despite a ban imposed on driving since Friday, hundreds of Erie County motorists were stranded in their vehicles over the weekend, with National Guard troops called in to help with rescues complicated by white-out conditions and drifting snow, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said.

The frigid winter storm has gripped much of the US and Canada, bringing life to a grinding halt as 55 million Americans remained under wind chill alerts on Sunday.

According to a report in Sky News, 1.8 million properties remain without power in the US, and thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed.

Also, at least 140,000 homes are without electricity in Canada, most of them located in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

The severity of the storm was notable even for a region well accustomed to harsh winter weather.

Poloncarz said the storm's death tally might rise further. Meanwhile, Canada's meteorological agency said that temperatures would remain low in many parts of the country this week.

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