The blizzard in the northeastern part of the USA and parts of Canada has taken its toll on over 345,000 homes in the U.S. The star reports today that there have been 11 reported deaths in the USA and three deaths so far in Canada.
Heating and cooking
Residents in the area are without power and it could stay that way until Monday. It could be a health hazard for families heating with electricity who have to remain in the dark; in the cold. Residents of the Northeast who cook with electricity will not be preparing their usual hot meals. If the power stays off for too long the food in refrigerators will spoil and the food in the freezers will melt. According to FoodSafety.gov, food stored in a refrigerator should be discarded after four hours of power outage. A half-full freezer will keep its temperature for about 24 hours and a full freezer will stay at the same temperature for about 48 hours.
Driving hazards
Furthermore, drivers have been stranded in the snow waiting for rescue. The star goes on to say authorities are perplexed about the situation, “We've never seen anything like this,” said county official Steven Bellone of New York's Long Island, where hundreds of drivers had been caught on highways by Friday's fast-moving storm. Local police said Sunday that all known abandoned cars were searched and no one needing medical help was found.”
One little boy in Boston died from carbon dioxide poisoning sitting in the car waiting for help to arrive. The snow was piled so high that cars were stuck and some people could not even open the doors to their homes.
“It's like lifting cement,” said Michael Levesque, who was shoveling snow in Massachusetts.” Massachusetts was hardest hit from the deadly snowstorm.
New York airports
“New York City's three major airports — LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark, New Jersey — were up and running by late Saturday morning after shutting down the evening before. Boston's Logan Airport resumed operations late Saturday night.”
Toronto airports down because of the storm
CBC News reported yesterday that, “Friday’s winter storm caused travel chaos at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed on Friday — and hundreds more on Saturday — as the storms blew into Atlantic Canada and the U.S. Northeast, snarling air traffic for yet another day. For the time being Air Canada is advising only passengers with confirmed departures to go to Pearson, the country’s busiest airport. It may take days before the airports are back to normal.
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