Blizzard of the Century: Human Toll of Deadly US Storm Grows in

By Staff, Agencies

The human toll that the winter blast which gripped much of the US last week has continued to mount. Since the “blizzard of the century” swept through multiple parts of the nation last week, at least 60 people have died countrywide, and details about the heartbreak their families are enduring have been trickling out.

In Buffalo, New York, alone, the death toll has climbed to 37 as rescue workers continue to clear snow-filled roads as part of their search-and-rescue operations.

One of those who died was Abdul Sharifu.

At about noon on Christmas Eve, Sharifu left his home in Buffalo to buy groceries for others. The 26-year-old Congo native who left his country after both of his parents were killed amid war did not return home alive.

Sharifu had gone for milk for a friend’s child because the child would not stop crying, according to Sharifu’s cousin, who spoke to Business Insider. When his pregnant wife, Gloria – who was due within a week – woke up from a nap, she was surprised to find that Sharifu had not yet returned home.

After unsuccessfully calling her husband’s phone, Gloria contacted Sharifu’s cousin, Ally, in a panic. Gloria and Ally waited 24 hours without hearing from Sharifu before notifying the police of his absence and asking for help from friends to look for him.

That evening, the group found Sharifu’s car parked near the train station, but there was no sign of him. They eventually learned that Sharifu was found face down in the snow by passersby who brought him to a hospital. He was dead by the time Sharifu’s family got to the hospital.

A local government spokesperson confirmed Sharifu was found dead outside in the snow about 11.30pm Saturday, Buffalo News reported. A cause of death was not immediately reported.

“He’s the guy [who] likes to help everybody,” Ally told WKBW. “Right now, we’re not doing good.

“His wife is not doing good. It’s so bad right now. So sad.”

News of Sharifu’s death came after the nation was shocked to learn of another Buffalo resident who died after being trapped in her car for 18 hours. Anndel Taylor, a 22-year-old student nurse, was attempting to drive home from a hospital shift on Friday when she got trapped in the storm. The New York Post reported that Taylor sent multiple videos to her family in North Carolina, updating them on the rising snow outside her car.

According to her family, Taylor hoped to sleep in her car while she waited for rescuers to reach her and that she would attempt to escape on foot if they did not.

Several hundred miles south of New York, a 91-year-old man from South Carolina died on Christmas after attempting to fix a broken water pipe outside his home.