Millions of people on the east coast of the United States and southeastern Canada take shelter as a huge storm continues on Monday (17), with snow, ice and high winds , causing road closures, suspension of flights and power cuts.

About 215,000 Americans were without power as of 5:00 p.m. GMT (2:00 p.m. GMT), according to the PowerOutage.us website, particularly in the states of North and South Carolina and Georgia.

Transportation has been badly affected, with thousands of flights canceled and part of the I-95 freeway closed in North Carolina.

Nearly 1,600 flights departing from, entering or within the United States had been canceled as of midday Monday, adding to the 3,000 suspended the previous day, according to tracking site FlightAware.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina was the hardest hit, with 1,200 canceled flights, or more than 90% of planned trips.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said “wind strength will slowly decrease” but snow will continue overnight in higher parts of New York and New England.

“Significant impacts of snow, ice, wind and coastal flooding will follow over a wide area,” the NWS warned in a tweet.

The storm caused tornado damage in Florida, while in the Carolinas and upper Appalachia, weather conditions raised concerns.

Intense winds toppled trees and caused flooding, with a 12-foot storm surge reported in Boston.

In Canada, much of the provinces of Quebec and Ontario continue to be affected by the snowstorm or with a strong wind alert, according to the country’s government website.

In Toronto, about 60 centimeters of snow were expected. “A historic storm for the city,” tweeted Anthony Farnell, head of meteorology for Canadian television channel Global News.

City police said on Twitter that they had to close two sections of the highway due to extreme cold and urged drivers to stay indoors.

Several schools were closed and school buses were not operating in Quebec and southern Ontario, including the Toronto area. The students were to resume classes in the two provinces on Monday after the holidays.

– Emergency state –

Drivers have been warned of dangerous road conditions, as well as major issues traveling from the state of Arkansas, in the southern United States, to Quebec, Canada.

“We see a lot of vehicles that have to stop and defrost the windshield,” Quebec’s transportation minister said in a tweet on Monday.

“Heavy rain and gusty winds allow ice to form despite the windshield wipers, all the more reason to stay indoors,” he added.

US authorities have also discouraged car travel in several states and sent teams to deal with emergencies, including in the south, where snow is much less common.

This Monday is a holiday across the United States, so schools and many businesses are closed, however, many drivers are taking advantage of the long weekend to travel.

The United States already experienced winter chaos earlier this month with heavy snowfall after a storm blanketed large areas in the northeast of the country. Hundreds of drivers were stranded for more than 24 hours on I-95, the highway that runs along the country’s east coast.