Drivers have been flouting a ban on driving within New York’s second-most populous city.
State and military police were sent Tuesday to keep people off Buffalo’s snow-choked roads, and officials kept counting fatalities three days after western New York’s deadliest storm in at least two generations, Arise News confirmed.
More than 30 people are reported to have died in the region, officials said, including seven storm-related deaths announced Tuesday by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s office.
The count surpasses that of the historic Blizzard of 1977, blamed for killing as many as 29 people in an area known for harsh winter weather.
Greg Monett turned to social media to beg for help shoveling a 6-foot (1.8-meter) pile of snow from the end of his Buffalo driveway so he could get dialysis treatment Tuesday.
‘This has been a nightmare,’ he said in an interview Monday. Power had been out for a time at his family’s home, he said, so relatives ran a gas stove to keep warm, a practice he acknowledged was dangerous.
‘We had to do what we had to do,’ said Monett, 43. “We would have froze to death in here.
‘His loved ones called 911 when his blood sugar dipped dangerously low and he nearly passed out Sunday night, but they were told it would take hours to get to the home,’ Monett said.
Families in western New York are now struggling to find food and other essentials before roads are fully off-limits – while others have taken to looting amid the chaos.
The blizzard claimed the lives of at least 35 citizens – three of whom were motorists – the storm continued to bombard the city with snow Tuesday, amid some signs of slow progress from officials in addressing the disaster.
During a news conference touting these efforts, dignitaries in Eerie County warned that both military and state police would be stationed throughout the state’s second-largest city to enforce a driving ban that has already been in place since Friday.
Poloncarz described the weather event as ‘the worst storm probably in our lifetime’, and warned citizens ‘this is not the end yet’ – as more snow was forecast for Tuesday.
The announcement came as several motorists were seen defiantly taking to the road in a region known for its harsh winters, despite a ban on personal road travel.
It is still unclear if the increased police presence will serve to address unrest in the streets, which local cops have so far struggled to contain.
The blizzard sees gas stations collapse under intense snow as families scramble to find food after blackouts shut supermarkets.
