Monster storm claims at least 34 lives and leaves many trapped in homes

Millions of people hunkered down against a deep freeze on Sunday to ride out the winter storm that has killed at least 34 people across the United States. It is expected to claim more lives after trapping some residents inside houses with heaping snow drifts and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

The scope of the storm has been nearly unprecedented, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60 percent of the US population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.

Travelers' weather woes are likely to continue, with hundreds of flight cancellations already and more expected after a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow. About 1,707 domestic and international flights were canceled on Sunday as of 2 pm, according to the tracking site FlightAware.

A crisis situation unfolded in Buffalo in western New York, where a blizzard left the city marooned, with emergency services unable to reach high-impact areas.

The storm unleashed its full fury on Buffalo, with hurricane-force winds and snow causing whiteout conditions and paralyzing emergency response efforts. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said almost every fire truck in the city was stranded on Saturday and she implored people on Sunday to respect a driving ban in the region. Officials said the airport would be shut through Tuesday morning.

Agencies Via Xinhua