The East Coast was hit by hurricane-force winds this weekend that caused at least 18 deaths, despite several days of weather warnings beforehand, according to the Associated Press. More than 10 states on the Eastern Seaboard declared states of emergency as a result of the storm, The New York Times reported.
"I want to be very clear with everybody. This is a major storm," Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser told the city during the week, according to Reuters, warning that the incoming weather had "life-and-death implications" and should be treated as such. Despite this, a number of deaths occurred over the weekend as a result of snow shoveling, hypothermia and car crashes caused by the snow.
One of those killed as a result of the storm was a 4-year-old boy in Iredell County, who died in a car crash, the New York Daily News reported. A woman's car fell down a 300-foot embankment in Tennessee, and a transportation worker was killed in Kentucky while plowing highways.
A travel ban had been ordered by officials over the weekend to prevent nonemergency vehicles off the road in New York, including buses and parts of the subway that run above ground. In Washington, the airports have been closed, and mass transit has been limited as of today in order to prevent further damage.
Thousands of residents and businesses also had their power cut as a result of the storm, with Duke Energy reporting that more than 112,000 people were affected in North and South Carolina on Friday, according to Reuters.
"Happy Sunday to all," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said at a news conference this morning. "We survived, and then some."
