Emergency crews in New York were scrambling Monday to rescue marooned residents from what authorities called the "blizzard of the century," a relentless storm that has left nearly 50 people dead across the United States and caused Christmas travel chaos.

Blizzard conditions persist in parts of the northeastern US, the stubborn remnants of a massive sprawl of extreme weather that gripped the country over several days, causing widespread power outages, travel delays and at least 49 deaths across nine states, according to official figures.

In New York state, authorities have described ferocious conditions, particularly in Buffalo, with hours-long whiteouts, bodies being discovered in vehicles and under snow banks, and emergency personnel going "car to car" searching for survivors.

The perfect storm of fierce snow squalls, howling wind and sub-zero temperatures forced the cancelation of more than 15,000 US flights in recent days, including nearly 4,000 on Monday, according to tracking site Flightaware.com.

Buffalo -- a city in Erie County that is no stranger to foul winter weather -- is the epicenter of the crisis, buried under staggering amounts of snow.

"Certainly it is the blizzard of the century," New York Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters, adding it was "way too early to say this is at its completion."

Hochul said some western New York towns got walloped with "30 to 40 inches (0.75 to 1 meter) of snow overnight."

Later Monday, Hochul spoke with President Joe Biden, who offered "the full force of the federal government" to support New York state, and said he and First Lady Jill Biden were praying for those who lost loved ones in the storm, according to a White House statement.

Biden also approved an emergency declaration for the state, the White House said.

The National Weather Service forecast up to 14 more inches of snow Monday, in addition to the several feet that have already left the city buried, with officials struggling to get emergency services back online.

Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted Monday afternoon that the blizzard-related death toll had climbed to 27 across the county, including 14 people who were found outside and three who were discovered in a car.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, Poloncarz said Erie's death toll would likely surpass that of Buffalo's infamous blizzard of 1977, when nearly 30 people died.

With more snow forecast and most of Buffalo "impassable," he joined Hochul in warning residents to bunker down and stay in place.

- 'Gut-wrenching' -

National Guard members and other teams have rescued hundreds of people from snow-covered cars and homes without electricity, but authorities have said more people remain trapped.

Erie County Sheriff John Garcia called the storm "the worst" he has ever seen, with periods of zero visibility and authorities unable to respond to emergency calls.

"It was gut-wrenching when you're getting calls where families are with their kids and they're saying they're freezing," he told CNN.

Hochul, a native of Buffalo, said she was stunned by what she saw during a reconnaissance tour of the city.

"It is (like) going to a war zone, and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking," Hochul said, describing eight-foot (2.4-meter) drifts against homes as well as snowplows and rescue vehicles "buried" in snow.

The extreme weather sent temperatures to below freezing in all 48 contiguous US states over the weekend, including in Texas communities along the Mexico border where some newly arriving migrants have struggled to find shelter.

- Sweeping power outages -

At one point on Saturday, nearly 1.7 million customers were without electricity in the biting cold, according to tracker poweroutage.us.

That number has dropped substantially, although there were still some 50,000 without power mid-day Monday on the US east coast.

Due to frozen electric substations, some Erie County residents were not expected to regain power until Tuesday, with one substation reportedly buried under 18 feet of snow, a senior county official said.

Buffalo's international airport remains closed until Tuesday and a driving ban remained in effect for the city and much of Erie County.

Road ice and whiteout conditions also led to the temporary closure of some of the nation's busiest transport routes, including part of the cross-country Interstate 70 highway.

Drivers were being warned not to take to the roads -- even as the nation reached what is usually its busiest time of year for travel.

17 dead in days of heavy snow in Japan
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 26, 2022 - Heavy snowfall across large parts of Japan has killed 17 people over the last 10 days, with thousands of homes suffering power outages, Japanese officials said Monday.

Much of the country's west coast as well as the northern region of Hokkaido have seen persistent heavy snow in recent days.

Some areas have seen almost a metre of snowfall in 24 hours, including the town of Oguni in northeastern Yamagata region, local media said.

Japan's weather agency has warned residents in the affected regions to avoid travel where possible, after cars got stuck on roads in heavy snow.

Government officials said Monday that 17 people have been killed and dozens more injured in the snow since December 17.

National broadcaster NHK reported the dead included a man who fell from a roof while clearing snow and a woman found dead of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in a car.

In Hokkaido, tens of thousands of homes have lost electricity in recent days as the snow brought down power lines, though most connections have now been restored.

The heavy snowfall is expected to ease from Monday.

Deadliest US winter storms of recent decades
Washington (AFP) Dec 26, 2022 - The winter storm that has left much of the eastern United States in a deep freeze and killed nearly 50 people is one of the deadliest in the country in the past three decades.

The nationwide toll of deaths related to the days-long storm has so far risen to 47 people across nine states, with at least 25 perishing in western New York's Erie County.

Here are some previous winter storms and cold snaps since 1993.

- 2021: A deadly cold snap -

A deadly cold snap hit Canada, the US and Mexico from February 13-19, paralyzing parts of the southern and central United States and claiming more than 70 lives, media reports said.

It also left millions of Americans struggling without electricity.

Across the southern border in Mexico six people died.

- 2016: 'Snowzilla' -

A blizzard dubbed "Snowzilla" blanketed the US East Coast, especially New York, from January 22-24.

It was blamed for at least 33 deaths as it slammed much of the coast.

More than 11,000 flights were canceled.

Some 27 inches (67 centimeters) of snow fell in New York's Central Park, the second-highest accumulation since records began in 1869. In Washington, Dulles International Airport was buried under 22 inches of snow in 24 hours.

- 2007: Cold snap kills 42 -

A cold snap accompanied by ice and snow left 42 dead in mid-January, most of them dying in traffic accidents on slick roads in Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, New York and Maine.

- 1996: 'Blizzard 1996' -

A big Eastern Seaboard snowstorm from January 7-9 left dozens dead, most of them in road accidents. It was dubbed "Blizzard 1996" by the press.

It was followed days later by another storm, and then by flooding.

The blizzard caused 154 deaths, directly or indirectly, according to the US National Weather Service (NWS).

- 1993: 'Storm of the Century' -

On March 13-14, what was dubbed the "Storm of the Century" dumped record snowfalls up and down the US East Coast, leaving 270 dead, according to the NWS.

Most of the deaths came in the states of Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, North Carolina, and even Alabama in the Deep South.

In addition, five people died in Canada, three in Cuba and five in international waters off Florida.

The latter state recorded 50 tornadoes, 30-foot waves off the coast, and four feet of snow in some areas.

Two cargo ships and their crews were lost: a Liberian-flagged ship with 32 on board off the east coast of Canada and a Honduran vessel with 16 crew members off Florida.

Many of the storm's casualties, mostly elderly, were killed by the biting cold; some suffered heart attacks while shoveling snow or clearing ice.

Skiers accounted for after Austria resort avalanche
Vienna (AFP) Dec 26, 2022 - Austrian authorities have located 10 skiers, most of whom were unharmed, after an avalanche at a resort that sparked a massive search for them, police said Monday.

One was seriously injured following the avalanche in the Lech Zuers ski area, where up to 200 rescuers backed by helicopters and dogs scoured for survivors.

Authorities, based on the video of a skier, initially reported that roughly 10 people were feared buried.

A German citizen was seriously injured and was transported to hospital, Hermann Fercher, head of the tourist office responsible for reporting on the rescue, told AFP.

The people involved included citizens from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia and the United States.

Officials had warned of high avalanche risk in the area over the weekend.

In recent years, avalanches in Austria have killed about 20 people on average each year.

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