Cars buried in east Canada snowstorm

Cars were buried under snow and doors were blocked by snow piles in St John's on Friday, as blizzard conditions descended on the Canadian city and residents prepared for an intense storm expected to last into Saturday.

St John's, the capital of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, declared a rare state of emergency.

Officials in St. John's ordered businesses closed and vehicles off the roads.

The nearby towns of Mount Pearl, Paradise, Torbay and Portugal Cove-St. Philip's followed suit shortly afterwards.

Environment Canada issued blizzard and wind warnings for much of Newfoundland and said strong winds and blowing snow might cause whiteout conditions until Saturday in some places.

(Image source: Twitter)