A divide-and-conquer approach to reopening clogged Buffalo streets in formal partnership with the state and city. Pre-emptive emergency declarations and driving bans. More call takers to answer Erie County’s 858-SNOW line. Better use of the federal emergency alert system to ensure that emergency message notifications show up on phone screens and TVs, accompanied by blaring sound.
These were among the highlights shared at a lengthy Erie County Legislature session in which county administrators publicly outlined comprehensive plans to meet the next winter emergency. The county’s plans were publicly shared 11 months after the 2022 Christmas weekend blizzard that left 47 people dead.
Extreme weather events fueled by climate change are becoming more frequent, so it’s reasonable to wonder if it will happen again – maybe even …
“In the same way that the county has always been prepared for a major snowfall, like the 7-8 foot fall we had in Snowvember 2014 or November 2022, we are now equally prepared for an extreme blizzard event,” said Benjamin Swanekamp, chief of staff for Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
In the aftermath of the blizzard, which left thousands of Buffalo city residents trapped in their homes for days without heat or power, emergency response officials from the state, county and city hatched a battle plan for extreme weather events to get every street plowed and open. They divided the city into thirds.
Erie County took over snow clearing for all city streets south of Broadway….
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