Sharjah24 – AFP: Millions were left without power as a winter storm gripped the southern and central United States Tuesday with record-low temperatures in ill-prepared areas, and a tornado claiming three lives.
More than 20 storm-related deaths have been registered so far, including in traffic accidents in Texas, Kentucky and Missouri, according to local media.
In hardest-hit Texas -- where freezing conditions prompted utility companies to implement rotating blackouts -- a woman and girl died from carbon monoxide poisoning after using a car to generate heat, according to NBC News.
In Houston on Monday, a homeless man was killed "possibly from exposure," according to the Harris County Sheriff's Department, and the city's police chief said another man had been found dead after potential exposure to low temperatures.
A man in Louisiana died when he hit his head after slipping on ice, and a 10-year-old Tennessee boy died after he and his six-year-old sister fell through the ice into a pond Sunday.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday vowed to provide additional emergency resources for those affected by the "historic storm."
The winter storm spawned at least four tornadoes, according to Atlanta-based weather.com, including one in coastal North Carolina late Monday that killed at least three people and injured 10 more.
"It is estimated that at least 50 homes were affected in the incident and several power lines were damaged, causing power outages," Brunswick County Emergency Services said in a statement.
Photos and video broadcast by US media showed downed trees, flattened homes and smashed cars.
According to the Poweroutage.us tracking site, more than three million residential, commercial and industrial customers were without electricity in Texas as of Tuesday evening.
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