Death toll from US snow storm rises to 15 — officials

CORRECTS DAY OF WEEK TO SATURDAY, NOT THURSDAY - This image taken by NOAA's GOES-East satellite on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, at 9:37 a.m. EST, shows a large winter snowstorm over the East Coast of the United States. (NOAA GOES Project/NASA via AP)

A woman (inset) pulls a hood over her head as she steps out into the snow in Lower Manhattan, New York City, on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2015, as storm clouds blanket the US East Coast, dumping tons of snow on  several states. AP

WASHINGTON, United States — At least 15 people have died in six states as a result of the monster snow storm battering the eastern United States, officials said Saturday.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed three people died shoveling snow, while officials in North Carolina said six people died in road accidents. Virginia and Kentucky each reported two fatalities, and one person died in both Maryland and Arkansas.

READ: ‘Snowzilla’: Blizzard blankets eastern US; worst is yet to come

“It’s a reminder to everyone — do not overexert, particularly folks having any kind of health challenges,” De Blasio told CNN.

The storm — dubbed “Snowzilla” — clobbered a large swath of the eastern US, dumping near-record amounts of snow on Washington, New York and other major cities.

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