Chicago: Over 1,000 flights cancelled as winter storm hit the area with heavy winds

Over 1000 flights have been cancelled across all airports in Chicago due to the current winter storm that ripped through the US this weekend killing at least 11 people. According to FlightAware, the storm caused flight delays as long as four and a half hours at Chicago’s O'Hare International Airport and lead to nearly 1000 cancellations on Saturday. 

Winter health advisory issued

According to reports from international media, the country’s O’Hare international airport cancelled over 950 flights while its Midway international airport cancelled about 60 flights on Saturday morning. The storm which has unleashed floods and tornadoes across the eastern US produced waves as high as 20 feet in Lake Michigan. The officials have also issued a winter weather advisory for North Illinois and Chicago area early on Saturday morning. 

The Chicago Department of Emergency Management said that it was prepared for any upcoming disaster. The department added that it was ready, with 1800 trucks and another equipment statewide on standby to treat roads or respond to flooding situations. The National Weather Service reports three storm-related deaths in Alabama. The National Weather Service in Birmingham said via Twitter that the three Alabama deaths occurred in Pickens County. Three other people have died in Louisiana and one fatality has been reported in Texas since fierce storms erupted in the southern US on Friday.

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The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana said on Facebook that firefighters found the bodies of an elderly couple Saturday near their demolished trailer. The winds were so strong that the home was moved 200 feet from its foundation. The deaths of the victims, who were the in-laws of a parish deputy, brings the storm-related toll in the state to three after a 75-year-old man was killed in Oil City, according to the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office. Raymond Holden was in bed when the tree fell on his home, crushing him.

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