The President of the United States approved the declaration of emergency for the state of New York, the most affected by Storm Elliot, to facilitate federal aid to respond to the needs of the population, announced the White House.
With this statement, Joe Biden approves federal aid to state and local governments to deal with the consequences of the storm, which caused at least 50 deaths across the country, 27 of which in the northwest of that state.
The US president authorized the Department of the Interior and the Emergency Management Agency to coordinate actions necessary to deal with the situation and “alleviate the adversity and suffering” caused by the storm, according to a statement from the White House.
Caused by an arctic cold front, the storm affected the United States from the Great Lakes, near the border with Canada, to the Bravo, or Grande, river, on the border with Mexico, affecting about 60% of the country’s population.
Heavy snow and cyclonic winds left thousands of people stranded in their homes, thousands of passengers stranded on Christmas Eve due to canceled flights and blocked roads, as well as power outages to nearly 1.7 million homes and businesses. due to disruptions in the electrical infrastructure.
New York City reached a minimum temperature of -10.5° Celsius (C) on Christmas Day, which had not happened since 1872, while Washington, the capital of the USA, had -10°C the coldest Christmas since 1983 and Tampa, Florida, reached temperatures below zero, which had not happened since 1966.
*With Lusa
