Many parts of the US are shivering with the deadly freeze as millions remain without power in their houses with temperatures down to –22 degrees- meaning no heaters and utilities to provide warmth.
Till Tuesday, the winter storm clenched the lives of 20 people in the Southern and Central America as the officials issued warnings to the residents of Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and the worst-hit, Texas.
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The record-high freezing cold forced the cancellation of over 2,700 flights by mid-Tuesday in Texas while Dallas Fort Worth International Airport canceled more than 800 flights and Houston’s Bush Intercontinental suspended over 700.
As people are scurrying to obtain heat to survive, a woman and girl reportedly died due to carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to make use of a car for generating heat in Texas.
A homeless man in Houston died after “possibly getting exposed” to the super chill temperatures on Monday, the department of the Harris County Sheriff said while another man got killed by the cold, according to the city police.
In view of the dire situation, on Tuesday, President Joe Biden vowed to give extra emergency services to all the people hit by the “historic storm”.
The statement released by White House mentioned him expressing gratitude to “road workers, highway patrol officers, and first responders who are taking swift action in horrific conditions to save lives”.
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Rotating blackouts have taken the stride as power grids remained overwhelmed with the demand. Canada through Mexico have been issued with wind-chill warnings as over 4 million people are forced to live without power.
The painfully chill temperatures are also bringing hurdles for the covid-19 vaccination drive due to which delays in shipments and deliveries are expected, the Biden administration said.
The National Weather Service was “very surprised how rapidly this storm intensified … and at the time of night when most people are at home and in bed, it creates a very dangerous situation,” Emergency Services Director Ed Conrow said.
Texas was the most affected state leaving 2 million homes and enterprises without power. In Appalachia, over 250,000 people had power cuts while in northwest Oregon, 200,000 lost electricity.
Shelters were opened across the state of Texas, allowing 1,000 to rest while the officials requested 60 generators to allow hospitals and nursing homes to function.
Some warning centres had to be shut after they lost power as a few were turned into makeshift warming centres.
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People experiencing the havoc are terming it to be “worse than a hurricane” while weather forecasters called it “extremely dangerous”.
Officials said that the power outages were “the last resort to preserve the reliability of the electric system as a whole.”
Many are contacting hotels to book last-minute rooms as some still had power on Tuesday morning.
