At least 38 people have been killed in various accidents due to severe snow storms in the US and Canada and life systems in the North American continent have been disrupted.

Officials say that at least 34 people have died in various incidents in the United States, and Buffalo, New York, has been the worst hit by the blizzard.

According to the authorities, four people died in the city of Merritt, in the western province of British Columbia, Canada, where a passenger bus overturned due to slipping on a snowy road.

In the US, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz told Reuter’s news agency that the bodies of about seven people were found in vehicles due to heavy snowstorms and extreme temperatures.

The blizzard also claimed lives in Vermont, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Colorado. Apart from this, the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan have also received heavy snowfall.

 

According to the US Meteorological Department, the visibility level in Buffalo, New York is 'zero'.

 

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who is from the city of Buffalo, said, "This blizzard will be remembered as the worst storm in the history of the city of Buffalo."

 

In the western US state of Montana, it is very cold at the moment and the temperature there has dropped to minus 50 degrees Celsius, while the Canadian province of Ontario and Quebec have also been severely affected by the snowstorm.

Around 25 crore people have been affected by this storm. At least 1.7 million people are forced to live without electricity in an area of ​​about 3200 km from the eastern province of Quebec to the southern state of Texas in the United States.

However, officials say that the blizzard has wreaked havoc for the past few days and the areas where power has been suspended are gradually being restored. More than 1 million people in the US and Canada were forced to spend Christmas Day without power.

Thousands of flights were canceled due to the severe snowstorm in North America, leaving millions unable to reach their loved ones even on Christmas Day.

This snowstorm is being named as 'bomb cyclone'. Due to the very low atmospheric pressure, a storm called a 'bomb cyclone' is formed. Because of this, North America is covered in snow, strong winds, and freezing temperatures.

Experts warn that frostbite, meaning the body's skin and tissue can freeze, can occur within just five to 10 minutes of being outside in such cold weather. In this condition, the nose and hands, and toes are mostly affected.

Frostbite is a natural reaction of the body against extreme cold. Blood flow to the last parts of the body is extremely reduced in its sufferers. Symptoms include swelling and pain from frostbite. In severe cases, the tissue is lost and has to be removed from the body with the help of surgery.

If someone suffers from frostbite, they should be taken to a warm environment immediately and seek medical attention.

Meteorologists have named this winter storm a 'bomb cyclone', meaning it is like an explosion of a storm that keeps on increasing in intensity. This is because the air pressure has dropped by at least 24 millibars in the last 24 hours.