The Buffalo, New York, area was hit by a frigid blizzard with strong winds that has claimed seven lives. The state’s governor has called the storm “devastating.”
According to Mark Poloncarz, the executive of Erie County, where Buffalo is located, some of those who perished were discovered in cars, while others were discovered on the street.
Poloncarz stated at a briefing on Sunday morning that “there may be more.”
According to Buffalo, six of the fatalities occurred there. On Sunday, driving was prohibited in Buffalo.
According to Poloncarz, much of Buffalo is impassable. He warned residents in locations where the situation has improved against going to Buffalo to save loved ones.
According to the outage-tracking website poweroutage.us, Erie County has over 27,000 people without electricity as of Sunday afternoon.
Buffalo was home to more than 20,000 of those clients, according to Poloncarz. He claimed that substations are frozen and snowed in.
As snowploughs were the only vehicles able to reach those trapped in cars, authorities have rescued “hundreds and hundreds” of people, according to Governor Kathy Hochul.
She added on Sunday that “This will go down in history as the most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long, storied history of having battled many battles, many major storms.”
According to Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, police are requesting people who own snowmobiles to help with search and rescue operations.
The National Weather Service said that by around 10 a.m., more than 3 1/2 feet, or roughly 43 inches, of snow had fallen at Buffalo’s airport over the previous 48 hours.
According to Poloncarz, there was a time during which they were unable to dispatch emergency service or Department of Public Works employees. He claimed that it was likely the first occasion when the Buffalo Fire Department was unable to react to calls.
