Our area of New York and Long Island has experienced one of the largest winter storms in recent years, resulting in more than 1 foot of snow accumulation, power outages, disruptions in transportation service, and sadly fatalities.
The number of deaths due to the snowfall that hit two-thirds of the United States this weekend rose to 34 people (it is reported that on Tuesday at least 10 died in NYC and 1 on Long Island), while 530,000 homes in the country remain without access to electricity.
The total number of deaths continues to grow after new victims were confirmed in the south and northeast of the United States due to hypothermia or accidents caused by falling snow.
It should be noted that meteorologists warned that prolonged exposure to arctic-type weather (below 0ºF) could lead to hypothermia if precautions are not taken.
Frozen in the open
Following the dangerous cold wave that hits New York City after the winter storm, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that at least 10 people have died after being found outdoors, prompting the municipality to implement emergency measures that go beyond its usual protocol for low temperatures.
“We still do not know if all the cases will be classified as hypothermia,” Mamdani declared during a press conference at City Hall, “but we need all New Yorkers to be alert and aware of their neighbors,” said the mayor, according to the news portal. AMNY.com.
New York City remains under Code Blue alert, which activates 24-hour assistance, relaxes shelter admission rules and expands emergency services, but Mamdani said the severity and duration of the cold requires additional measures. He described the conditions as “the coldest weather conditions we have experienced in the city in 8 years.”
Since January 19, NYC has housed nearly 500 homeless New Yorkers in transitional housing, including shelters, safe havens and stabilized beds, according to Mamdani. Seventy people were taken indoors during the last relief operations alone. Still, he said: “Code Blue alone is not enough in the face of such intense and unusual cold.”
Under the expanded emergency protocol, the city is intensifying search efforts every few hours, deploying staff from shelter providers, collaborating with faith-based organizations and coordinating with homeless advocacy groups, such as the Street Homeless Advocacy Project, to organize additional assistance shifts.
The city has opened 10 new warming shelters since Friday and, as of Monday night, added 7 additional NYC Health + Hospitals centers across the five boroughs. The authorities have also enabled 10 additional air-conditioned buses at key points, which complement the existing mobile heating units. Hospitals have been asked to limit overnight discharges when patients have nowhere to go.
Dies shoveling snow
On the other hand, on Long Island the death of a person was reported while shoveling snow at a church in Nassau County.
This is a retired New York Police (NYPD) officer, identified as Roger McGovern, 60, who was shoveling snow at Our Lady of Victory Church, located in Floral Park, during Sunday’s storm, according to authorities.
The deceased was an usher at the church and a member of the Knights of Columbus, media reported. McGovern was regarded as a helpful friend to his community who always had a kind word for everyone.
The church held a virtual rosary service in his honor Sunday night. The official cause of death has not been released, the News 12 channel detailed in detail.
“They said he was at church and had a seizure, that was the original version, and when he got to the hospital, he passed away,” a friend of McGovern told ABC 7.
His family said he had just finished attending Sunday noon mass. “He had spoken to the priest and told him that he was going to go out and shovel the sidewalk so that the parishioners could enter, and before starting to shovel, he collapsed,” said the friend of the deceased.
No electricity or flights
It should be noted that 5 victims have also been registered in the state of Tennessee, 4 in Pennsylvania, 3 in Texas and 2 in Iowa, among others. Most of the victims were due to frostbite, the EFE agency reports.
Additionally, authorities reported that a 67-year-old man was found unconscious on a sidewalk in Verona, New Jersey, with a shovel in his hand. He was taken to a local hospital, but his death was confirmed there. His identity has not been revealed.
In Massachusetts, a woman was killed by a snowplow in a public parking lot and her husband was injured. Three people died in Lehight County, Pennsylvania, while shoveling snow, according to the county coroner. And in Texas, at least one teenager died after a vehicle lost control in the snow.
Although the bulk of the storm has already passed, more than 530,000 homes still do not have access to electricity. The most affected states are Tennessee, where more than 172,000 homes are disconnected, Mississippi, where there are 140,000, or Louisiana, with 99,200. In other states on the east coast such as Virginia, North Carolina or Georgia there are between 20,000 and 40,000 families without access to the electrical grid.
In addition, thousands of flights have been affected by the storm. According to the FlightAware portal, this Tuesday 1,851 flights have been canceled and 2,900 have suffered delays.
The airports where the most delays have occurred are John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and Boston.
On the other hand, the terminals with the most cancellations are Dallas-Fort Worth International, Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and Miami. Around 20,000 flights in the country have been canceled since the storm began on Saturday.
