Over 100 people have died from this past weekend’s below-freezing temperatures and wintry conditions.
The death toll has significantly risen since early Monday morning, when at least 14 people were reported dead in multiple states. Across much of the United States, residents were hit with large snowfalls, high winds, frigid temperatures, and power outages.
As of Thursday, the death toll has reached over 100, just as the East Coast braces for another winter storm this weekend.
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New York tops the list of states with the most deaths reported, with at least 15. Mississippi was not far behind, with 14 confirmed reported deaths, according to Gov. Tate Reeves (R-MS). Tennessee has the third-most casualties of any state, with 13 reported deaths, 12 people have died in the winter blast in both Kentucky and Texas, and at least nine deaths have been reported in both Louisiana and Indiana, according to USA Today.
The causes of death across the country have ranged from anything in between heart attacks from snow shoveling to hypothermia to sledding accidents. Deaths have also been reported in states such as Pennsylvania, Maine, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Ohio, Maryland, Michigan, and South Carolina.
“Life safety remains our top priority,” Reeves said, who reminded residents that there are 79 “warming centers” open for residents across the state.
“Kentucky, I’m sad to share the fatalities related to this week’s winter storm have now risen to 12 with the passing of a 32-year-old woman in Fayette County. This is a tough time for these families, and I hope you’ll join Britainy and me in praying for them,” Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) wrote on X.
Of the 15 reported dead in New York, at least 10 people have died in New York City as a result of the winter weather.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has caught flak from critics who pointed to a statement he made during a Tuesday press conference in which he called involuntarily forcing the homeless inside “a last resort.” A reporter asked Mamdani how he felt about forcing homeless people, who do not want to go to shelters, inside during the winter weather.
“This is a last resort. Our first method of outreach is to communicate to homeless New Yorkers across the five boroughs as to the options that they have. We are, however, not going to leave someone out in the cold if they’re a danger to themselves or to others,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani also noted, however, that the city has placed nearly 500 residents into shelters since Jan. 19.
“The city remains in Code Blue, which means that we are intensifying outreach, that we are conducting round-the-clock checks, and have loosened traditional shelter intake procedures to accommodate as many New Yorkers as possible,” Mamdani said.
In Washington, D.C., there are currently zero reported deaths, the district’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed to the Washington Examiner.
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Rachel Pierre, Washington, D.C.’s director of human services, gave an update on the district’s homeless population during a Wednesday press conference. She said the Beltway has nearly 1,700 beds activated for the homeless and has brought 100 homeless people inside since the start of the snowfall.
“We are happy that we currently do not have any reported code-related injuries in our homelessness population,” Pierre said. “We continue to provide outreach every day for our neighbors who choose to continue to stay inside, continue to encourage them to come in, but we bring the resources to them when they choose not to come in.”
