US Faces “Historic” Winter Storms as Millions Lose Power and Thousands of Flights Cancelled
Washington, The Gulf Observer: US President Donald Trump on Sunday described the winter storms sweeping across large parts of the United States as “historic,” as forecasters warned of record-low temperatures and potentially “catastrophic” damage.
The severe weather system has left more than one million people without electricity and forced the cancellation of over 10,000 flights over the past two days. Heavy snow, freezing rain and bitterly cold temperatures have paralysed parts of the eastern and southern United States, with the storm affecting an area covering nearly two-thirds of the country.
According to PowerOutage, power outages continued to rise, with at least 330,000 customers without electricity in Tennessee, while more than 100,000 outages were reported each in Mississippi and Louisiana. Several other states, including Texas, Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia and Alabama, were also impacted.
Flight-tracking website FlightAware reported that more than 10,800 flights were cancelled on Sunday, following over 4,000 cancellations on Saturday, disrupting travel nationwide.
President Trump approved federal emergency disaster declarations for several states and said authorities would remain in close contact with officials in areas along the storm’s path. He urged Americans to “stay safe and stay warm” as the extreme weather continues.
The Department of Homeland Security said that 17 states and Washington, DC, have declared states of emergency. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service warned that the storm could be unusually widespread and long-lasting, with dangerously low temperatures expected to persist in the coming days.
