Washington, Dec 26 (EFE).- At least 38 people have died in recent days from causes related to the freezing storm Elliot, which has affected a large part of the country with heavy snowfall, low temperatures and hurricane-force winds, according to the United States network CBS.

Millions had to take shelter from severe frost overnight and early morning to weather the frigid storm that gripped much of the US, trapping some residents inside homes with heavy drifts of snow, CBS reported.

The storm’s reach has been almost unprecedented, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande River along the Mexican border.

60% of the US population faced some type of winter weather advisory

About 60 percent of the US population faced some type of winter weather advisory or advisory, with temperatures dropping sharply below normal from the Rocky Mountains east to the Appalachians, the National Meteorological Service said.

Thousands of US flights were canceled Saturday and almost 3,000 Sunday night, according to the FlightAware tracking site cited by CBS.

At least seven people died in the Buffalo area in New York, where the storm struck the strongest, collapsed by snow and whose airport will remain closed until at least Monday.

The dead were found in vehicles, at homes and on the street, Erie County authorities reported.

There have also been deaths from accidents or from the cold in Kansas, Missouri, Vermont, Colorado, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to the local press.

Elliot is moving slowly eastward Sunday as it weakens, although temperatures remain frigid and lower than usual in the eastern, central, and southern parts of the country. EFE

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