The death toll in the New York city of Buffalo has risen to 28, with thousands still without power amid a monster winter storm that has battered North America, the BBC reports.
Across the US, at least 62 people have died in weather-related incidents.
In Buffalo, a state official said that military police are being brought in to help manage traffic in the city, where a driving ban remains in place.
Looting has been reported in parts of the city during the emergency.
The winter storm has also forced the cancellation of thousands of flights, including about 4,800 on Tuesday morning alone. Thousands of passengers have been left stranded at airports across the country.
Conditions are now expected to improve, with very little snowfall on Tuesday and slightly warmer weather on the way.
At a news conference on Tuesday, officials in New York’s Erie County – which includes Buffalo – said that the death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue. The 28 confirmed dead were all in Buffalo.
“All of the numbers have not caught up at this time,” Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said. “We know that the [Erie] county number is larger.”
More than 4,000 people in the area remain without power after the storm, which Mr Brown said was “probably” the worst of most residents’ lifetimes. At the peak of the storm, about 20,000 people were without power.
