Red Cross Provides Shelter as Snowstorms Paralyze Buffalo
Written by Ray Steen, Staff Writer, RedCross.org with news reports
NOAA's National Weather Service Forecast Office
in Buffalo
January 3, 2002 — Dump trucks filled the streets of Buffalo, N.Y., on Tuesday (Jan. 1), removing about 7 feet of snow that began falling on Christmas Eve and didn't stop until Friday (Dec. 28). Cleanup crews, residents and the National Guard used plows, shovels and heavy machinery to clear the area, while only one-fifth of the roads remained open to traffic.
City public works official Joseph Giambra told CNN,"the problem is, in this case ... we have to actually remove the snow. We can't plow it because it's higher than our plow blades."
The storm set three daily snowfall records — 20.5 inches on Dec. 24, 21.9 inches on Dec. 27, and 26.2 inches on Dec. 28. A total of 35.4 inches of snow fell within a 24-hour period on Thursday, making it the second highest 24-hour snowfall on record in Buffalo. After five days of snowfall, 81.5 inches of snow was recorded at the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport.
The Greater Buffalo Chapter of the American Red Cross has provided food, shelter, cots and blankets to 51 people who were evacuated from their homes.
The record snowfall in Buffalo also shut down several Red Cross blood collection sites, said Marianne Humphrey, a spokesperson for the New York-Penn blood region, which collects blood throughout all of upstate New York,
Humphey estimated that the snow prevented about 900 units of blood from being collected in the Buffalo area, but generous blood donors in other parts of the state, not hit by the storm, made up the difference.
On the weekend before the New Year holiday, the Red Cross scheduled several emergency blood drives in the Albany area to make up for the closed offices in western New York. More people than the Red Cross had hoped for showed up to meet the challenge, and the New York-Penn region's blood supply is creeping back up to normal levels.
The U-Crest Fire Department evacuated an entire apartment complex in Depew, N.Y., fearing that the weight of the snow would cause roofs to collapse. One man died when snow caused his carport roof to collapse.
President George Bush issued an emergency declaration in four New York counties, including Erie and Niagara. Under the declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse local and state government agencies for a portion of the total costs associated with the snowstorm — including sanding and salting, snow removal and search and rescue.
New York Gov. George Pataki declared a state of emergency Friday (Dec. 29) in Buffalo, and issued a driving ban that was lifted Sunday. The snowstorm will cost millions. Erie County executive Joel Giambra noted, "snow removal alone is $2 million a day."
CNN reported that the record snowfall represented about 90 percent of the average Buffalo usually gets for an entire season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that December 2001 will go down in history as the snowiest month on record in Buffalo, far surpassing the old record of 68.4 inches set in December 1985.
The record snowfall also shut down several Red Cross blood collection sites, according to Marianne Humphrey, a spokesperson for the New York-Penn blood region, which collects blood throughout all of upstate New York.
Humphrey estimated that the snow prevented about 900 units of blood from being collected in the Buffalo area, but generous blood donors in other parts of the state, not hit by the storm, made up the difference.
On the weekend before the New Year holiday, the Red Cross scheduled several emergency blood drives in the Albany area to make up for the closed offices in western New York. Many people responded to the call for blood donations, and the New York-Penn region's blood supply is now approaching normal levels.