美国遭遇极端天气

In the US, the Mid-Atlantic States near Washington, D.C. are enduring an incredibly powerful thunderstorm that came from the Midwest. Millions of people are still without electricity and to make matters worse, a record heat wave is baking the region.

The powerful storm caught homeowners and emergency teams off guard. Hurricane force winds overburdened trees, sending them crashing into houses across roads and downing power-lines. From the Midwest, United States to the Washington, DC area, millions of people are without electricity.

What makes that worse is it will take more than a week to restore all power and the region is coping with record heat above 35-degrees Celsius. So those everyday conveniences we take for granted, like refrigeration and air conditioning are gone.

Hurricanes give first responders time to be in place, to cope with the messy aftermath of tangled power lines, and felled trees. The storm that crippled much of the country is called a derecho, a straight line wind storm that carves its way through a large area extremely quickly. But its effect will be felt for the foreseeable future.

Some are trying to find solace in malls or movie theaters. But the reality is emergency phone systems are down in some places in Virginia. The storm is already blamed for claiming at least 13 lives, the elderly and informed are facing a punishing week unless power can be restored quickly.