At last, the paralyzing blizzard that devastated the east coast and dumped tons upon tons of snow is now over. But 28 people are reported dead and the affected areas now face a massive task of cleaning up the storm's aftermath.
New York's travel ban has been lifted, but Washington which is at the center of it all remained at a standstill.
As millions of residents and business owners surveyed the wreckage, the clean-up task seems to be very formidable considering the damage the snowstorm has caused.
Most of the deaths are caused by car crashes, and some died due to snow related issues. A mother and her one year-old son inside a car, died while members of their family tried to shovel snow to get them free. Their deaths were apparently due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
The sun shone brightly and the temperatures rose gently in the east coast Sunday, after the snowstorm has passed allowing millions to start digging out. Most of them stayed at home as the heaviest snow fell on Friday and persisted until Saturday.
In Baltimore, over 600 people answered the call of Aaron Brazell in his Facebook invite. "I knew people would be cooped up in their houses and wanting to come outside," stated Brazell.
However, dangerous conditions are still prevailing in some areas. Piles of plowed snow reaching waist-high still block Manhattan bus stops. This forced passengers to face the risk of waiting on streets.
But others are more cautious choosing to walk a dozen blocks to get to a bus stop where snow was safely cleared. "I decided, I don't want to die," said Judy Tenenbaum while she boarded a bus going to the YMCA.
This was the second-biggest storm that hit New York City, dumping at least 26.8 inches of snow on Saturday midnight. The record snowfall was 26.9 inches in 2006.
