AFX International Focus
Copyright 2007 AFX News Limited
CHICAGO — A massive winter storm moved eastward across the central US bringing snow, sleet, ice and flash floods, killing at least 29 people and prompting President George W. Bush to declare an emergency in Oklahoma state.
Since Friday, weather-related road accidents killed 14 people in Oklahoma, including seven in a minivan crash Sunday, while 103,000 people were without power, state authorities said Monday.
Bush declared an emergency in the central state. The Federal Emergency Management Agency began distributing generators and bottled water to communities hit by the ice storm, said the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
The state of Missouri said the weather claimed eight lives, with traffic accidents caused by slick conditions killing seven and one dying from carbon monoxide poisoning, a common cause of death when those without power use fuel-burning stoves to heat their homes.
More than 300,000 people lost power in Missouri due to downed power lines, the state reported Sunday. One line worker was injured when he fell from a utility pole.
In Kansas, five people were reported killed in weather-related traffic accidents and one person was poisoned by carbon monoxide exposure, said state officials quoted by the Kansas City Star newspaper.
One person died in a weather-related traffic accident in New York state, according to WGY radio.
In Texas, the governor called out the National Guard after more than six inches of rain caused flash flooding and dramatic high-water rescues.
The National Weather Service issued flood warnings and advisories in several states, from Louisiana to Ohio and Illinois. An ice storm warning was posted for parts of the northeastern states of New Hampshire and Maine.
Record-breaking cold weather even hit the Pacific Coast state of California, where mild temperatures usually prevail all year.
California oranges, lemons and other produce worth as much as half a billion dollars were likely ruined, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday, citing an industry spokesman.
The storm in central states was moving eastward, and has already caused ice storms in western parts of New York state, forecasters said. It was expected to cause less trouble as it crosses the northeast New England region, according to the National Weather Service.