Winter storm kills 38 in upstate New York; food is scarce and roads and airport reopen amid accumulated snow
Highways and the main airport were reopened in Buffalo almost a week after the historic storm that mainly affected that northern New York city, where the dead already total 38 and looting, power outages and shortages of food and medicine have been reported. between resident stuck at home.
The authorities continue patrolling from door to door, looking for people who may have died or are trapped and suffering after the snowstorm that began Friday and accumulated as much as 49 inches in some areas. Until yesterday, 38 deaths had been reported, according to New York Post.
The driving ban in the second most populous city in the state after NYC was lifted yesterday just after midnight, Mayor Byron Brown announced.
“Significant progress has been made” on snow removal, the mayor said at a news conference last night. Suburban highways, major highways and the Buffalo Niagara International Airport had already reopened.
Still, Brown urged residents to Don’t drive if you don’t have to. Buffalo was the city hardest hit by the christmas storm elliot that hit several states of the country.
The National Guard has gone door-to-door to check on people who lost power, and authorities faced the chance of finding more victims as snow melts amid an increasingly temperate climate, detailed ABC News.
Buffalo police and officers from other law enforcement agencies also search for potential victims, sometimes using officers’ snowmobiles, trucks and other personal equipment.
Until yesterday many residents were stranded without food, electricity or medicine, while officials promised to clear the roads as soon as possible. “If someone needs food, we will bring them”, promised New York National Guard spokesman Eric Durr. “We did something similar in New York City after Superstorm Sandy,” he said, referring to the 2012 emergency.
Eight suspected store looters have been arrested but not identified, the Buffalo Police Department announced yesterday. The arrests came after that body created an “Anti-Looting Task Force.” “This is not about people stealing food, medicine and diapers,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said Tuesday, according to a report from WIVB. “They are destroying stores, stealing televisions, sofas, everything they can get their hands on.”
It seems the criminals took advantage of the fact that authorities have focused on health and rescue priorities, and in addition to the fact that the mobility of the agents is still limited by the snow.
Storm Elliot unleashed its full fury on Buffalo, bringing hurricane-force winds and snow that brought zero-visibility conditions and crippled emergency response efforts. Dramatic stories include a 22-year-old nurse who was found dead inside her car, where she reportedly was trapped calling 911 for more than 18 hours.
With the death toll already surpassing that of the notorious 1977 blizzard in the area, officials face questions about the response to the storm. They insisted that they prepared, but that the weather was extraordinary, even for a region prone to severe winter storms. This heavy snowfall was described by Governor Kathy Hochul as “the blizzard of the century”.
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