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Snowfall death toll reaches 40 in Pakistan

Around 1,000 cars have been stuck in Murree as authorities launched a full-fledged operation to rescue the stranded people, with locals providing them food and blankets to help them combat the chilly weather….reports Asian Lite News

As Pakistan is currently witnessing its first spell of heavy rainfall and snow of the new year, the country has reported more than 40 deaths with hundreds of people displaced and many houses damaged, officials said.

In a mishap, 22 people, including nine children, froze to death in vehicles stranded due to heavy snow in the country’s north Murree region as thousands of tourists flocked to the resort area, which created a big management crisis, Nouman-ul-Haq, an official from the National Disaster Management Authority, told Xinhua news agency.

He added that entry of tourists to the hill station would be banned for the next two days.

Around 1,000 cars have been stuck in Murree as authorities launched a full-fledged operation to rescue the stranded people, with locals providing them food and blankets to help them combat the chilly weather.

At least 20 others were killed in other parts of Pakistan owing to extreme weather conditions, the official said.

According to rescue officials in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, nine people were killed and 10 others injured in various rain and snowfall-related incidents on Friday and Saturday.

Similarly, heavy rains also claimed the lives of 11 people in Punjab and Balochistan provinces, whereas dozens of people also sustained injuries.

Personnel of the Pakistan Army, Navy and paramilitary Frontier Corps are assisting local governments in rescue and relief operations in the affected areas of the country. Hundreds of people have been shifted to safe places after torrential rains damaged their houses in Balochistan, the worst affected region in the wet spell.

According to a statement of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, heavy rains with snowfall over the hills are expected in parts of the country until Sunday.

Heavy rainfall may generate flash flooding in vulnerable parts of the country, said the weather department, adding that heavy snowfall in hilly areas may cause road closures and all the concerned authorities should remain alert during the forecast period.

The heavy rains and snowfall also disrupted travel across Pakistan.

More than 20 flights to and from Lahore were cancelled or diverted owing to the inclement weather, sources from the city’s Allama Iqbal International Airport told Xinhua.

The bad weather affected the train services in the country, where passengers had to face long delays, with authorities urging people to only make necessary travels during the forecasted period and get details of their flights or train departures.

Many residents have reported power outages in several parts of Pakistan due to the inclement weather.

ALSO READ: 21 stranded tourists dead at Pakistan hill station

Categories
USA

US bracing for another snowstorm

NBC’s Storm Team 4 is eyeing the potential for another winter storm late Thursday into Friday that could drop up to 4 inches of snow on parts of the tri-state area….reports Asian Lite News

The mid-Atlantic and New England regions of the US will be hit by a second snowstorm of the week from Thursday night into Friday, according to weather-forecasting service agency AccuWeather.

“Accumulating snow will be disruptive across a large swath of the Northeast, including major cities from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, New York City and Boston,” Xinhua news agency quoted AccuWeather’s latest forecast on Wednesday as saying.

Arctic air will surge across the Midwest into Wednesday night, and a storm will form along the leading edge of the cold air as a dip in the jet stream provides enough fuel for a new system to develop.

“This will be a disruptive storm, and since cold air will be preceding the storm, snow will accumulate on roads as soon as it starts,” said AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno.

NBC’s Storm Team 4 is eyeing the potential for another winter storm late Thursday into Friday that could drop up to 4 inches of snow on parts of the tri-state area.

Snow is expected to start falling in spots late Thursday, but the bulk is expected early Friday. The weather is likely to cause some problems for Friday’s morning commute.

Spots south and east of NYC are expected to see the highest totals, as was the case with a storm earlier this week that dropped more than a foot of snow on parts of New Jersey.

“As with any winter storm, there’s wiggle room in the forecast for a shift in track,” added NBC, cautioning people in the area, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Substantial snowstorm threatens to hit NYC from Thursday night into Friday morning, reported Secret NYC on Wednesday, citing multiple weather sources.

The National Weather Service is eyeing snow overnight Thursday into Friday, with one to two inches possible on Thursday night and another one to two inches possible Friday morning.

Of course, even a 70 per cent chance of precipitation isn’t definite, and it all really depends on how much the storm amplifies and strengthens, said the report.

However, NY Metro Weather has put the possibilities of the storm together quite succinctly, noting the potential for a winter storm from late Thursday into Friday.

On Sunday, many were sceptical that accumulating snow would fall the next day in northeastern US, but by Monday afternoon, five to 10 inches or more of cement-like snow had plastered large parts of the region.

More than a half-million customers in Virginia and Maryland lost power because the weight of the snow combined with strong winds brought down tree limbs and power lines, and traffic on Interstate 95 came to a standstill.

The storm’s severity can be attributed to its unusual strength and its course, taking an ideal track to wallop the zone from Central Virginia and Southern Maryland to the District with exceptionally heavy snow and strong winds.

ALSO READ: Winter storm strikes Chicago