Victims Died Of Snow Storm In New York Increased To 27 People

Snowstorm in New York. (Twitter/@dave_krugman)

JAKARTA - Authorities and related agencies in Buffalo, New York, United States are focused on restoring electricity, cleaning roads and inspecting houses and cars for anyone who is still stranded, as well as on the occupation of the dead, after the area was hit by a snowstorm.

At least 27 people died in a storm in Erie County, as the Buffalo was buried by 50.3 inches of snow and hit by violent snowstorms over the Christmas weekend.

Meanwhile, about 22 other deaths were reported in nine states of Uncle Sam's country, bringing the national storm-related deaths to around 49.

The storm also disrupted holiday travel, with more than 2,900 flights inside, US entry or exit canceled Tuesday, according to tracking site FlightAware. Of these, about 2,500 are operated by Southwest airlines.

The storm that occurred in Buffalo is considered more virulent than the 1977 snowstorm, which killed 23 people at the time.

"Sunend weather" is very bad and it lasts 24 hours in a row," said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, according to CNN Dec. 27.

Poloncarz continued, even emergency vehicles and recovery at one point were trapped in the snow, with most of the Buffalo region impassable.

"We have rescuers saving the rescuers," Buffalo Deputy Mayor Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney told 'CNN This Morning' on Tuesday, adding the matter had been resolved.

"We need to help rescuers first so they can go and help the community."

Separately, conditions improved on Monday, making it easier for rescue crews to reach hundreds of displaced people, said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.

"In some circumstances, some of these people may not have survived if not for first aid efforts to save them from the vehicle," he said.

Meanwhile, New York State Police Acting Inspector Steven Nigrelli said hundreds of vehicles were left in the snow in Buffalo. Authorities went from door to door, from car to car, checking people, he said.

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul stressed the importance of complying with local and state driving bans in West New York. Buffalo, Laccanna, and Cheektowaga are all under overnight driving bans.

"We had a lot of vehicles left behind when people left during the storm. It's still a dangerous situation to get out," Hochul told a news conference.

It is known, apart from New York, eight other states that recorded death toll from extreme weather were Colorado (2 deaths), Kansas (3), Kentucky (3), Missouri (1), Ohio (9), Tennessee (1), Wisconsin (1) and Vermont (1).