Many people in Buffalo and across Western New York woke up Saturday morning unable to leave their homes.
High winds and a violent storm that lasted all night created snowdrifts more than 6 feet in front of homes and businesses, covered front doors and porches, and pinned parked vehicles. on the road and driveway. Few have ventured outside, and those have faced bone-chilling temperatures that have frozen their faces, numbed fingers and left exposed clothing and limbs soaked and frozen.
“This has been a very, very bad night in our community,” Mark Poloncarz, Erie County executive, said Saturday morning. “This could turn out to be the worst storm in the history of our community, surpassing the famous Snowstorm of 77 in terms of its intensity.”
Poloncarz said two people died in Cheektowaga because emergency workers could not reach them in time.
He said wind and snow were hampering emergency response efforts and suggested that hundreds of residents could still be trapped in their cars, including those trying to drive out of the area late at night.
“Our number one priority is coordinating efforts to reach these people,” he said.
Mr. Poloncarz said that in the worst-affected areas – including Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Lancaster and Williamsville – two-thirds of emergency responders were trapped and unable to reach people.
“It’s not something we’re proud of,” Poloncarz said, urging people to stay, even if they stayed at the restaurant where they had dinner Friday night. “Efforts are being made, but there is no guarantee that in a life-threatening emergency they will be able to respond immediately.”
Mr Poloncarz said that in one case, a doctor had to talk on the phone with a woman about her labor, instructing her sister on how to deliver the baby.
Elsewhere in Erie County, the mother of a sick baby inaccessible to emergency services pleaded for help on Facebook, saying her 1-year-old was on a ventilator.
She wrote: “There is no electricity or heat and I have a child on a ventilator.
Tommy Bellonte, 37, a federal employee, ventured out of his north Buffalo home in less than 10 minutes on Saturday morning to release his giant German Shepherd dog outside and Check the condition of his neighbor’s driveway. But the “cold to the bone” hit immediately.
“Everybody said, ‘Oh, you’re from Buffalo, you’re used to this.’ But you just can’t get used to this,” he said, as he shoveled dirt for the side aisle. “I won’t be out for long, that’s for sure.”
Like many in Western New York, Mr. Bellonte’s vacation arrangements were disrupted by the storm. Instead of going to his family’s home in the northern suburbs of Lewiston, he plans to stay Saturday, “just hunker down” and watch the Buffalo Bills game on television.
“I have some friends who live a block away,” he said. “Fortunately, we all still have strength.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Poloncarz urged residents not to call 911 in non-emergency situations so the service can help those in most urgent need.
“It can be frustrating when your internet goes down, but that’s no reason to call 911,” he said.
County officials have asked Governor Kathy Hochul to send in the National Guard to help with rescue operations.
Conditions are not expected to improve throughout the day. The National Weather Service predicts gusts of up to 65 mph and cold winds of minus 15 to 25 degrees. Mr. Poloncarz urged people to stay indoors and not go out on Christmas Eve.
“If you weren’t in a hurricane zone, you wouldn’t know how bad it was,” he said.
