Americans recount living through the deadly winter storm: There was ice in the toilets'

"I've genuinely never seen anything like this before, says Meghan, who is originally from Pittsburgh and works in music business management. I woke up on Sunday morning to my power being out and the sound of ice-covered trees cracking and branches falling. I live right by the highway and typically hear a lot of cars and traffic, but there was no sound of cars."

"Her power came back on at 6pm on Sunday evening after being off since 5am. She says she is one of the lucky ones, as some of her friends are still without power. I have not left my apartment since Friday night, and with all the fallen trees and branches and the ice, it is impossible to drive anywhere, she says. I worked from home as usual on Monday and was advised to work from home on Tuesday."

A huge winter storm in the US caused more than 40 deaths and left nearly 300,000 households without power days later. Schools closed and flights were cancelled as heavy snowfall and icy conditions made travel impossible. Affected residents reported ice-laden trees cracking and branches falling, cars damaged by debris, and buildings sustaining damage such as dangling gutters. Power outages forced some people to stay in cars to keep warm and charge phones and prompted remote work where possible. Rural homes experienced damage despite prior winterisation efforts.

Read at www.theguardian.com