National guard check door-to-door in Buffalo after storm that killed 34

Members of the US national guard went door-to-door in some neighborhoods of Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday to check on residents who lost power during a winter storm earlier this week that killed nearly three dozen residents of the region.

As the national guard made their way from house to house, members were confronted with the bleak possibility of encountering still more victims in frigid homes and piles of melting snow, according to the Associated Press.

While the historic storm brought blizzard-like conditions to much of the US, including record snowfalls and hurricane-force winds, western New York found itself the epicenter of destruction. A total of 65 people are known to have died across the country due to the storm, CNBC reported.

Three Buffalo residents were found dead in their vehicles, four died without heat in their residences, three died from cardiac causes involving snow-shoveling or clearing, and three died due to delayed emergency services.

One victim was Anndel Taylor, 22. Taylor died after being trapped in her car for 18 hours during which she reportedly exchanged videos with her sisters in North Carolina, the New York Post said. In the final video, Taylor rolled down her window to show that a van was also trapped nearby.

Buffalo officials are continuing to enforce a driving ban. Poloncarz said that they wanted every street to have at least one open lane by Wednesday night.

The Buffalo Niagara international airport, which had been shuttered due to the storm, reopened on Wednesday, but nearly all flights were listed as delayed or canceled.

Temperatures in Buffalo are predicted to reach around the mid-40s Fahrenheit, about 7C, on Wednesday, inching to the low-50s, about 10C, by Friday, according to the National Weather Service.