Storms cripple life in New York’s Buffalo, leave 10 dead

Across Buffalo in New York state and especially in its southern and eastern suburbs, heavy snowstorms earlier this week crippled normal activity and by last evening had claimed 10 lives, The New York Times reported. At least one nursing home had to be evacuated.

Governor Andrew M Cuomo declared a state of emergency and rescue crews from as far away as Long Island, New York, were converging to help the digging operations in the area.
Listeners called in on talk radio, to locate friends or relatives who had missed appointments for dialysis. People dragged sleds laden with beer through snowbanks 10 feet high.

According to the National Football League (NFL), the Buffalo Bills-New York Jets game scheduled for Sunday would be moved out of Buffalo. According to the league, it postponed a Buffalo Sabres-New York Rangers game scheduled for Friday night.

With people not able to move out of their homes and left with the supplies they had when the first wave of the storm hit late Monday, many were worried by late yesterday.

Meanwhile, according to US weather forecasters, a fierce winter storm in upstate New York was about done, but flooding problems could hit next with temperatures expected to rise to nearly 16 degrees Celsius in the coming days, Voice of America reported.

According to weather watchers, an epic winter storm had dumped about two-and-a-half metres of snow, or what is seen in an entire season.

According to the Arctic, blast had caused at least eight deaths, mostly from exposure and heart attacks in several people who were outside shoveling snow. The enormous weight of the snow led to creaking of some roofs while others caved in under the snow.

With roads not able to support driving, a number of grocery stores reported low supplies of staples like bread and milk. Along a stretch of the New York State Thruway - the state's main highway - over 300 truckers were idle, as they waited for the road to reopen.

Cuomo urged drivers to keep off the road and called for cancelling the National Football League game set for Sunday just outside Buffalo, saying holding the game would jeopardise public safety.

Late yesterday, the NFL announced the game would be moved to the domed stadium in Detroit, more than 400 kilometers away, scheduled for Monday night as the home team Lions were not at home this weekend.