Irish Examiner view: Deaths during blizzard in US due to a collision of nature and fate

It appears that under-resourced public services in the US were unable to deal properly with the historic snow and ice storm

13-year-old Angelo Milioto shovelling snow away around his home in Buffalo, NY, as a clean-up gets underway after the blizzard hit New York counties particularly hard. Picture: Joseph Cooke/The Buffalo News/AP

As America roils from historic blizzard conditions across the country and most particularly in and around the city of Buffalo in upstate New York where dozens of lives have been lost, questions are understandably being asked as to why the authorities did not take further measures to protect citizens.

Buffalo is no stranger to snow, but this storm was forecast a long way out and it was widely known it was going to be a monster.