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Freezing U.S.
Snowstorm paralyses
Washington DC and eastern US
 Some
of the heaviest snow for decades has hit parts of the eastern US, paralysing air
and road transport, and bringing Washington DC to a standstill
Story
from BBC News
Published: February 6, 2010
The storm knocked down power lines and left hundreds of thousands of
people without electricity. Nearly 2ft (60cm) of snow had fallen by noon on Saturday
in cities across the region, the Associated Press reports. The mayor of Washington
DC, and the governors of Virginia and Maryland have declared states of emergency.
West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are also affected.
The
National Weather Service declared a 24-hour blizzard warning for the Washington-Baltimore
region until 2200 on Saturday (0300 GMT on Sunday). Most flights from the Washington-Baltimore
area's three main airports and Philadelphia International Airport have been cancelled.
Hundreds of car accidents were reported, including two fatalities - a father and
son who died while helping another motorist in Virginia. US national rail service
Amtrak cancelled a number of trains between New York and Washington, and also
between Washington and some southern destinations.
Local weather forecasters
said the Washington area could see its heaviest snowfall in 90 years. It
comes less than two months after a December storm dumped more than 16in (41cm)
of snow in Washington. The usually traffic-heavy roads of the capital were deserted,
while the city's famous sites and monuments were covered with snow. The Washington
Metro was operating only on underground lines, and bus services were cancelled.
US
government offices in the Washington area closed four hours early on Friday, while
the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo were closed on Saturday. Debi Adkins,
who lives just outside the city of Baltimore, told the BBC: "The snow started
at 1130 yesterday morning and it just hasn't stopped... about 20 inches came overnight
- and thunder and lightning. "I'm not going anywhere - I couldn't if I
wanted to. You just can't get your cars out. The front door of the building I
live in is closed shut, so I just can't get out."
Ushaa Shyam
Krishna in Chantilly, Virginia, said he - like many others - had stocked up
on essential food items ahead of the storm. "For the first few hours after
the storm began, my daughter and I tried to shovel the snow, but now we have given
up," he said. "On Thursday the supermarkets were half empty - we went
again yesterday and the shelves were totally empty."
(Published:
09.02.2010.)
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