PICS: US emerges after ‘Snowzilla’

New York - The eastern United States emerged wearily from a massive blizzard that dumped huge amounts of snow and killed at least 25 people.

New York - The eastern United States emerged wearily from a massive blizzard that dumped huge amounts of snow and killed at least 25 people.

The storm - dubbed "Snowzilla" - walloped a dozen states from Friday into early Sunday, affecting an estimated 85 million residents who were told to stay indoors and off the roads for their own safety.

The 26.8 inches (68 centimetres) of snow that fell in New York's Central Park was the second-highest accumulation since records began in 1869, and more than 22 inches paralysed the capital Washington.

Near-record-breaking snowfall was recorded in other cities up and down the East Coast, with Philadelphia and Baltimore also on the receiving end of some of the worst that Mother Nature could fling at them.

But as the storm ended and temperatures rose, New York emerged from total shutdown and lifted a sweeping travel ban. Roads were reopened throughout the city, on Long Island and in New Jersey.

Thousands of people flocked to parks, tobogganing, organizing snowball fights and strapping on cross-country skis, as children delighted in a winter wonderland under glorious sunshine.

But as the storm-related death toll rose, authorities advised caution despite the picture postcard scenes outside.

AFP