Thirty dead after historic blizzard rocks the East Coast

Folks help push a car out of the snow in Richmond, Virginia. Steve Helber/Associated Press

At least 30 people have died after a massive storm slammed the US East Coast over the weekend.

The damage is expected to cost businesses and residences more than $3 billion, according to Moody's Analytics, via CNN.

National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini originally estimated the storm would cost nearly $1 billion.

"It does have the potential to be an extremely dangerous storm that can affect more than 50 million people," Mr Uccellini said on Thursday.

A woman decorates a snowman in Times Square during the second largest blizzard in New York City's history. Yana Paskova/Getty

State of emergencies were declared across 12 US states and Washington DC. The Associated Press compiled the following list of the storm's death toll.

Kentucky: 2, Maryland: 2, New Jersey: 2, New York: 5, North Carolina: 6, Ohio: 1, Pennsylvania: 1, Tennessee: 2, Virginia: 5, Washington DC: 1, Delaware: 1, South Carolina: 3.

The deaths were the result of automobile accidents, heart attacks while shoveling snow and carbon monoxide poisoning.