LOS ANGELES: Powerful winter storms lashed the United States on Wednesday, with heavy snow snarling travel across wide areas, even as unusual warmth was expected in others.
Blizzards expected to dump up to two feet (60 centimeters) of snow swept across a vast band of the country from the West Coast to the Great Lakes, grounding flights and knocking out power to tens of thousands.
Warnings of heavy snowfall were even issued for typically sunny areas near Los Angeles, as well as for more typical winter weather spots in the far north.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service said two rounds of snow would wallop parts of Minnesota in a “historic winter storm (that) will likely lead to impossible travel.”
“Heavy snow will combine with northeast wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph (55 to 70 kph)... This will lead to significant blowing and drifting snow with whiteout conditions in open areas. Some drifts may be several feet deep,” a warning said.
“If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle.”
More than 1,450 flights within, into or out of the United States had been canceled by 2100 GMT, according to Flightaware.com, with its “Misery Map” showing Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul particularly badly hit.
Roads were also difficult, with Wyoming suffering from problems even on main highways.
“Please change travel plans if you are coming toward Wyoming,” the state’s department of transport posted on its Facebook page. “A major winter storm and multi-day closures are likely on Interstates and secondary roads throughout Wyoming!“
Around 150,000 properties were without power across the country, according to Poweroutage.us, the bulk of them in California, where strong winds were toppling trees.
An unusual blizzard warning was put in place for the mountains around Los Angeles from early Thursday, with snow expected to fall even at relatively low elevations.
“Now is the time to prepare for a COLD AND DANGEROUS winter storm expected for much of the week,” the NWS in Los Angeles warned.
“Several FEET of snow is expected in the mountains with a few inches possible as low as 1000 feet. Gusty and potentially damaging winds are also expected.”
While not everyone was expected to wake up to a whiteout, even people in Los Angeles will be treated to the sight of snow-dusted mountains.
“Nearly entire population of (California) will be able to see snow from some vantage point later this week if they look in right direction (i.e., toward highest hills in vicinity),” climate scientist Daniel Swain of UCLA tweeted.
It will be chilly by southern California standards, but forecasters warned that some areas of the country would be very cold, with parts of the northern and central plains seeing wind chills as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 C).
But while the West and some northern parts of the United States are shivering, eastern areas will be unusually warm.
“These highs on Thursday will be particularly anomalous for the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic, where temperatures 40+ degrees above average will feel more like June than February,” the NWS said.
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Heavy snow snarls travel as winter storms hit US
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Heavy snow snarls travel as winter storms hit US
- An unusual blizzard warning was put in place for the mountains around Los Angeles from early Thursday, with snow expected to fall even at relatively low elevations
Death toll climbs after trash site collapse buries dozens in Philippines
MANILA: Hard hat-wearing rescue workers and backhoes dug through rubble in search of survivors on Saturday in the shadow of a mountain of garbage that buried dozens of landfill employees in the central Philippines, killing at least four.
About 50 sanitation workers were buried when refuse toppled onto them Thursday from what a city councillor estimated was a height of 20 storys at the Binaliw Landfill, a privately operated facility in Cebu City.
Rescuers were now facing the danger of further collapse as they navigated the wreckage, Cebu rescuer Jo Reyes told AFP on Saturday.
“Operations are ongoing as of the moment. It is continuous. (But) from time to time, the landfill is moving, and that will temporarily stop the operation,” she said.
“We have to stop for a while for the safety of our rescuers.”
Information from the disaster site has been emerging slowly, with city employees citing the lack of signal from the dumpsite, which serviced Cebu and other surrounding communities.
Joel Garganera, a Cebu City council member, told AFP that as of 10:00 am (0200 GMT), the death toll from the disaster had climbed to four, with 34 still missing.
“The four casualties were inside the facility when it happened... They have these staff houses inside where most people who were buried stayed,” he said.
“It’s very difficult on the part of the rescuers, because there are really heavy (pieces of steel), and every now and then, the garbage is moving because of the weight from above,” Garganera said.
“We are hoping against hope here and praying for miracles,” he said when asked about the timeline for rescue efforts.
“We cannot just jump to the retrieval (of bodies), because there are a lot of family members who are within the property waiting for any positive result.”
At least 12 employees have so far been pulled alive from the garbage and hospitalized.
- ‘Alarming’ height -
“Every now and then when it rains, there are landslides happening around the city of Cebu ... how much more (dangerous is that) for a landfill or a mountain that is made of garbage?” Garganera said in a phone call with AFP.
“The garbage is like a sponge, they really absorb water. It doesn’t (take) a rocket scientist to say that eventually, the incident will happen.”
Garganera described the height from which the trash fell as “alarming,” estimating the top of the pile had stood 20 storys above the area struck.
Drivers had long complained about the dangers of navigating the steep road to the top, he added.
Photos released by police on Friday showed a massive mound of trash atop a hill directly behind buildings that a city information officer had told AFP also contained administrative offices.
Garganera noted that the disaster was a “sad, double whammy” for the city, as the facility was the “lone service provider” for Cebu and adjacent communities.
The landfill “processes 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste daily,” according to the website of its operator, Prime Integrated Waste Solutions.
Calls and emails to the company have so far gone unreturned.
Rita Cogay, who operates a compactor at the site, told AFP on Friday she had stepped outside to get a drink of water just moments before the building she had been in was crushed.
“I thought a helicopter had crashed. But when I turned, it was the garbage and the building coming down,” the 49-year-old said.
About 50 sanitation workers were buried when refuse toppled onto them Thursday from what a city councillor estimated was a height of 20 storys at the Binaliw Landfill, a privately operated facility in Cebu City.
Rescuers were now facing the danger of further collapse as they navigated the wreckage, Cebu rescuer Jo Reyes told AFP on Saturday.
“Operations are ongoing as of the moment. It is continuous. (But) from time to time, the landfill is moving, and that will temporarily stop the operation,” she said.
“We have to stop for a while for the safety of our rescuers.”
Information from the disaster site has been emerging slowly, with city employees citing the lack of signal from the dumpsite, which serviced Cebu and other surrounding communities.
Joel Garganera, a Cebu City council member, told AFP that as of 10:00 am (0200 GMT), the death toll from the disaster had climbed to four, with 34 still missing.
“The four casualties were inside the facility when it happened... They have these staff houses inside where most people who were buried stayed,” he said.
“It’s very difficult on the part of the rescuers, because there are really heavy (pieces of steel), and every now and then, the garbage is moving because of the weight from above,” Garganera said.
“We are hoping against hope here and praying for miracles,” he said when asked about the timeline for rescue efforts.
“We cannot just jump to the retrieval (of bodies), because there are a lot of family members who are within the property waiting for any positive result.”
At least 12 employees have so far been pulled alive from the garbage and hospitalized.
- ‘Alarming’ height -
“Every now and then when it rains, there are landslides happening around the city of Cebu ... how much more (dangerous is that) for a landfill or a mountain that is made of garbage?” Garganera said in a phone call with AFP.
“The garbage is like a sponge, they really absorb water. It doesn’t (take) a rocket scientist to say that eventually, the incident will happen.”
Garganera described the height from which the trash fell as “alarming,” estimating the top of the pile had stood 20 storys above the area struck.
Drivers had long complained about the dangers of navigating the steep road to the top, he added.
Photos released by police on Friday showed a massive mound of trash atop a hill directly behind buildings that a city information officer had told AFP also contained administrative offices.
Garganera noted that the disaster was a “sad, double whammy” for the city, as the facility was the “lone service provider” for Cebu and adjacent communities.
The landfill “processes 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste daily,” according to the website of its operator, Prime Integrated Waste Solutions.
Calls and emails to the company have so far gone unreturned.
Rita Cogay, who operates a compactor at the site, told AFP on Friday she had stepped outside to get a drink of water just moments before the building she had been in was crushed.
“I thought a helicopter had crashed. But when I turned, it was the garbage and the building coming down,” the 49-year-old said.
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