Chicago, the city fighting the polar wave with stoves on the street

Fight him as he is. The unusual wave of polar frost forced the inhabitants of Chicago in the United States to install stoves on the docks while waiting for the metro or to take refuge in "heating centers" set up by the City, noted the agency EFE.

Sliding temperatures have become an odyssey for pbadengers who want to take the "L", as it is called the Chicago Elevated Train, as most of the stations are in the open air.

Arrested around stoves on platforms, wrapped from head to toe and carrying hot drinks, transients withstand temperatures of up to 19 degrees Celsius, with a thermal sensation of minus 25 and threats of snow storm.

This is an emergency that occurs "once a decade or every two decades," said Dave Dombek, senior meteorologist at Accuweather. The stoves provide a few minutes of relief, but are enough to avoid the risk of frost or hypothermia during the arrival of the train.

The city's 911 emergency office has warned these brave citizens that the signs of frostbite are tingling, palpitations and numbness of the fingers and toes, ears and nose. With freezing, body fluids crystallize and expand, causing tissue damage that can lead to death.

"It's good that once you start feeling that the time has come to find a warm environment, away from the cold," said Milva, a nurse interviewed by Efe when the train waited. "I look like a bear, nothing extraordinary, but it's the only way to survive," said Milva.

Protected from ear protectors, gloves and a fur cap, Milva explained that she had thermal underwear, thermal pants, several layers of woolen clothes and thick boots. The nurse faces much more than what the 12-year-old Lincoln Park Zoo's Anana polar bear is willing to endure during these slips.

In the coming days, it should be colder and the polar wind blowing from Lake Michigan can freeze in less than half an hour the people still exposed, warned today the director of the Office. 911 emergency, Rich Guidice. "Chicago is used to extreme cold, but its people must be careful and not expose themselves, in addition to knowing what happens to their neighbors, their family, and their friends," he said. -he adds.

People with home heating problems can visit six "warming centers" managed by the Department of Family Support and Services. In one of them, Messiah Johnson told Efe that he was allowed to stay overnight. "I do not know what I would have done without this help, I should have slept in the street," he said.

The municipality did not provide figures on competition, but indicated that some centers saw their capacity fully met and had to extend services at night to take care of the homeless.

Public libraries, police stations and park services facilities also welcome people who need to protect themselves temporarily from the cold.

The National Weather Service's forecast for the Chicago area heralds a "dangerously cold" weather this weekend, which will be followed by a major snowstorm and an "excessive risk of extreme cold," possibly with victims. unprecedented temperatures.

The emergency room encourages residents to prepare for the extreme cold and hardships of snow, storing food and taking care of their vehicles.

He also warned that the state of slippery roads was the cause of accidents such as the wreckage of 14 cars without injuries that occurred Thursday morning on Lakeshore Drive, the one that borders the lake and the one that channels the most high-speed traffic in the city.