7 dead as US storm snarls travel
2012-12-27 09:16
Chicago - A massive Christmas storm that whipped up
tornadoes, ice and snow from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes has killed
at least seven people and grounded more than 2 000 flights.
The storm snarled holiday travel as people were warned to
stay home rather than brave the strong winds, freezing temperatures and
treacherous roads.
The National Weather Service warned of "dangerous
travel conditions due to snow and ice covered roads" and said the weight
of ice and snow could knock down power lines and trees.
Already, more than 200 000 people were in the dark.
The weather service forecast up to 46cm of snow from New
York state up to Maine and warned of freezing rain, tornadoes and severe
thunderstorms all the way down to the Carolinas.
Areas in the Rocky Mountains were also set to get about a
foot of snow from a second storm system on Wednesday.
Flights cancelled
Albion, Illinois had already recorded 47cm of snow by
Wednesday afternoon while parts of Pennsylvania had recorded as much as 1.3cm
of freezing rain as the storm continued to pound the region.
The Indiana state police said it had responded to 159
crashes near Indianapolis - many of them with multiple vehicles - in just the
first few hours of the storm.
More than 1 500 US flights had been cancelled by Wednesday
evening, after 536 were grounded on Tuesday, according to flight tracker
FlightAware.
Another 201 were already cancelled for Thursday.
"The biggest factor on both coasts is high winds and
winds not aligned with runways," FlightAware chief Daniel Baker said.
"This causes significant capacity constraints that lead
to long delays and cancellations."
States of emergency
Scores of homes and businesses were damaged on Tuesday after
34 tornadoes were reported in the southern US states of Texas, Louisiana,
Alabama and Mississippi.
James Bowman said he was sitting in his living room when a
sudden wind rattled his rural Texas home apart on Tuesday afternoon.
"The inside of the living room started falling down, so
I just sat there in the recliner and then it didn't last but just a few seconds
- then it stopped," Bowman, who was alone at the time, told KTRE news.
"I just thank God that I wasn't hurt and the walls and
stuff didn't fall in on me."
The governors of both Mississippi and Alabama have declared
states of emergency.
More than 200 000 people remained in the cold and dark on Wednesday
after the storm knocked down power lines in Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.
Bad road conditions
The regional utility company said it was bringing in outside
crews to help, but it could be a week before service was fully restored.
"Road conditions are making travel very dangerous and
slow," Entergy said.
"In addition, the threat of falling trees and tree
limbs poses a substantial risk to our crews who are working to restore power as
quickly as safely possible."
Two children were killed after their mother lost control of
her vehicle on an icy road in Arkansas on Christmas Day, the state police said.
Another person was killed in the state early on Wednesday as
a result of the storm, the Arkansas emergency management service said.
A dozen people were hurt in a 21-vehicle pileup caused by
icy roads in Oklahoma City that started when a truck jack-knifed on a major
interstate and oncoming cars were not able to stop on the icy roadway, the
Oklahoman reported.
Two women were killed in separate crashes in the state on
Christmas Day, the state highway patrol said.
A man was killed in rural Louisiana when a tree hit his home
on Christmas Day, and a Texas man died in similar circumstances in a Houston
suburb, local media reported.
