New York faces its worst snowfall in a decade

WashingtonAfter from the storm at the end of January that ravaged the east coast and parts of the southern United StatesA new winter front is battering the northeast of the country. The snowfall, which left layers of snow up to 70 centimeters deep, caused flight cancellations and delays, as well as leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power. The worst of the storm is being felt in New York City, which declared a state of emergency in the face of the worst snowstorm in a decade. On Monday, accumulations of up to 40 centimeters of snow were recorded in Manhattan.

The newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who only assumed the position The city had to manage the severe weather, and on Sunday announced a series of measures to try to mitigate the impact of the storm, which is expected to last until tomorrow. The circulation of all wheeled vehicles (such as cars and buses) has been prohibited to allow access for essential services and the 700 snowplows. Some 5,000 city cleaning service workers remain on alert, working special 12-hour shifts. All public schools have also been closed, although, unlike the last storm, this has not meant the suspension of classes for all students. Since the introduction of online classes due to the pandemic, the famous "snow days" when children were excused from going to school are coming to an end. Only some of the 900,000 students enrolled in the municipal public school system have had their online classes canceled.

The extreme cold, which has been settling in New York for weeks since the first Arctic wave arrived, has already caused the deaths of more than twenty people (mostly homeless) due to the low temperatures. For this reason, Mamdani announced this Monday, in an interview with News12, the opening of 100 additional beds in a shelter in Upper Manhattan.