(Newswire.net — January 23, 2016) — Most parts of the east coast region, including the capital city, Washington DC, have had more than 30 inches of snow. The National Weather Service has predicted new snowfall and said it could be twice as much next time around. Strong gusts of wind and potential life-threatening situations are also expected.
At least nine people have died due to accidents caused by the blizzard which is slowly moving and paralyzing the region from the State of Georgia in the south, all the way to New England in the north.
A state of emergency has been declared in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and parts of other states.
Authorities in Kentucky have opened a few reception centers along one of the main highways due to drivers being stuck in their vehicles for more than 10 hours.
Washington DC, the capital city of the United States, being located at the center of the storm, has already measured almost 10 inches of snow, and its predicted it will continue to fall until Sunday. Meteorologists stated that this snowstorm could become one of the top ten worst to ever sweep the Washington DC area.
Before the beginning of the storm on Friday, the mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bauzer, declared a state of emergency and gave order to shut down the local schools.
All federal government agencies, as well as public transportation have been shut down, which happens rarely.
On Friday, 6000 flights were canceled across the country, while thousands of others have been delayed. Around 80,000 households in New Jersey have been left without electricity and it is expected that the situation will further deteriorate.
Meteorologists expanded their forecast to New York when the storm started to get closer and now they believe that the city could see as much as 18 inches of snowfall.
Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York, points out that the appropriate authorities are working to repair the problems caused by the bad weather and are urging citizens to stay at home unless there is an urgent need to go out.
It is expected that the snow will continue to fall until Sunday, with the damage from the storm estimated at more than a billion dollars.