The number of people who have died due to the bad weather wave that hit several states in USA, rose to 34, CBS News reported Thursday night. Most of the deaths-20 so far-were recorded in the state Texas, according to the network. The polar cold, snowfall and tornadoes caused widespread power outages.
The front that caused the record snowfall in the south is moving towards the east coast of the US, expected to hit yesterday from North Carolina to New England (northeast).
In New York, the snow adds to the 40 cm that fell in early February. About 10 centimeters had fallen in Central Park this afternoon.
Around 200 flights were cancelled.
«Since December, I don't think a single week has gone by without snow. It's crazy,» said Kara Dixon, a student at NYU.
According to the US National Weather Service (NWS), frost and bad weather in North Carolina and Virginia were expected to cause «several» power outages and tree falls in the coming hours.
In Texas over 250,000 households remained without power even though power plants were restored, while over 240,000 others also experienced power outages in Louisiana and Mississippi (south).
Residents of the state are also facing shortages and problems with water supply, as pipes broke due to the frost even inside houses. About seven million Texans have been advised to boil water before drinking it or using it in the kitchen, while about 264,000 are facing disruptions in drinking water supply.
During a press conference at the White House, Liz Sherwood-Randall, advisor to the president Joe Biden on national security issues, he noted that there will be initiatives by the federal government to improve the national power grid and avoid future outages like those in Texas.
Receiving widespread criticism for the authorities' lack of preparation, Republican Governor Greg Abbott blamed ERCOT, the operator of the power grid, and pledged an investigation.
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a late active supporter of Donald Trump, was forced to apologise after a barrage of criticism for travelling with the family to the Mexican resort of Cancun amid the wave of bad weather that caused the crisis. He tried to justify himself by claiming he took his children to Mexico and returned immediately, unconvinced. Later, he admitted that he had committed a mistake.
The bad weather wave caused major problems in the vaccination campaign for the new coronavirus, especially in Louisiana and New York.
President Joe Biden has been forced to postpone a visit to a factory of the Pfizer which produces vaccines in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
