At least 21 deaths from extreme winter conditions in the United States | NOW

In the United States, at least 21 people have died as a result of the extreme winter conditions that mainly affected central and southern parts of the country. In the state of Texas, millions of homes will be without electricity, some of which may still be in the coming days.

A winter storm has been raging in the southeastern United States since Tuesday, bringing cooler temperatures than in Alaska. In the state of Nebraska, the mercury has dropped to 35 degrees below zero. In the generally warm Dallas, Texas, a temperature of -17 degrees was measured.

Due to the cold, many places where the coronavirus vaccination is closed and vaccine deliveries were also at risk. According to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, natural gas supplies are also in trouble due to pipeline freezes.

Extreme weather conditions in the southeastern United States will last until Friday. About ten centimeters of winter precipitation is expected.

Criticism of the authorities

Local authorities in Texas received a storm of criticism when the power grid collapsed in weather, with power outages statewide. Across Texas, more than 4.4 million homes were without power. Parts of metropolitan Texas could be left without power in the freezing cold for days, district officials said.

The weather has killed at least 21 people in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Missouri. Four people died on the road from the cold. A homeless man froze to death, and a mother and daughter died of carbon monoxide poisoning when they tried to heat their home by turning on a car engine. Four people died in a burning house where the electricity was cut.

US President Joe Biden has pledged federal government assistance to governors of affected states. It will provide all necessary emergency resources, the White House said in a statement.