The polar wave in the United States has already killed 11 people – ElSol.com.ar – Diario de Mendoza, Argentina

The extreme cold wave that hits the United States with temperatures reaching Thursday 39 degrees below zero and a thermal sensation of -45 in the center-west of the country already leaves at least 11 dead and reaches about 75% of the population, which is about 216 million inhabitants.

The National Meteorological Service expects temperatures to moderate slightly with the arrival of snow in an area where frost and hypothermia have proliferated in theaters. Emergency hospitals.

The state of Minnesota has suffered the worst of this polar cold wave and in the small town of Bemidji, near the border with Canada, the thermometers marked at the beginning of the day 39 below zero, while in the nearby town of Duluth repeated with a thermal sensation close to minus 50 degrees.

But in other areas less accustomed to this polar cold, temperatures continue to tremble with temperatures between 15 and 30 degrees below average for the year in the upper Mississippi Valley, in the Great Lakes. or in the central regions of the North Atlantic.

Chicago, which is accustomed to cruel winters, has undergone temperatures lower than the South Pole, Siberia or even Mars in the last 48 hours, which has paralyzed the third most populous city in the country, with 2.7 millions of inhabitants.

This forced its inhabitants to virtually disappear from the streets and stay in their homes in order to avoid the arctic air mbad that lasts for days in the Midwest and Great Lakes region. with thermal sensations reaching the negative 55 degrees

The deaths linked to this wave of polar cold are already at least eleven, according to the provisional count established Thursday by the authorities.

A young couple was killed in a car accident in rural Indiana and three victims in Iowa, including an 18 – year – old student who was found lying on the campus of Iowa. University of Iowa.

Two men died in Illinois, one hit by a snow plow, and the other cases were exposed to cold in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Dozens of people were also injured in several chain collisions on slippery roads due to accumulated ice.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced today that at least 30 admissions to emergency rooms in that state had been registered Wednesday because of the freezing and freezing of blood. # 39; hypothermia. In addition, in all Midwest hospitals, dozens of patients were better cared for. symptoms

After the cold weather virtually closed the city of Chicago, with no public and private activity and public schools closed until Friday, life has slowly been normalized today, although local airports have recorded more than 1,700 cancellations of flights during 24 hours

In the rest of the larger Midwestern cities, intense cold is expected to begin to subside late today, although facilities are being maintained as heating centers for the homeless or those suffering from problems. heating in their house. .

The authorities urge people to stay warm and not to neglect what experts consider "the coldest air in a generation."

The meteorological service has asked drivers to prepare for "dangerous" journeys due to the accumulation of snow and sub-zero temperatures, which hinders the cleaning and treatment of roads.

In the Chicago area, the utility has reported that 7,000 households have supply problems due to network freezes.

In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer asked residents of the state last night not to use the heater as much until Friday noon.

The petition is presented, he explained, before "the extremely high demand for natural gas" and an incident occurred in the facilities of a supplier of this service, in order to defeat (this polar cold) with "the less damage possible "for its electrical systems.