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The state of emergency continues in Buffalo. And it seems like residents in some parts of the city just across the border can’t catch a break.
With nearly eight feet or almost three metres already on the ground, Buffalo is being hammered by another round of lake effect snow.
All that snow is starting to add up and it’s not only too much for people to clear their driveways, it’s becoming too much for many homes and buildings. The weight is starting to take down roofs
You can actually see the cracking and damage it’s causing. And some people are trying to save their homes by getting on the roofs themselves and shoveling the snow off.
With a big warmup expected this weekend – there are growing concerns that the snow is going to turn into heavy wet snow, with flooding a possibility.
And trying to get anywhere for supplies is beyond challenging. Gas stations are starting to run out of gas in some areas.
And major highways are still closed tonight with some people still trapped in buried cars.
With the state of emergency still in effect, there are driving bans in 20 communities in the path of this storm.
With the second wave of lake effect snow moving in, crews worked to push the snow off the roof at a nursing home in Cheektowaga. The roof was sagging, beams were bent and Governor Cuomo ordered the 125 residents be evacuated. next door the weight of the snow took down this warehouse and in Hamburg another building collapsed.
Towns south and east of Buffalo have been pounded by this storm.
“The roads are bad, they’re not plowed yet.”
I’m standing on a main road here in Cheektowaga. Behind me this snow looks like a snow bank.
But it isn’t. It’s an entrance to a side street — covered in five feet of snow.
This man is standing in his driveway. You can only see the top of his head.
There’s so much snow, people are trapped in their houses. Many can’t get out their front door.
Trina Hibbs and her husband have been digging out for days: “We just keep getting up and shovelling and then we sleep and get up and re-shovel.”
And still can’t open their side door.
The owner of this car abandoned it at the gas pump.
The only way to get around is walk. Police are enforcing a driving ban in more than 20 communities.
“I’ve been driving since 1975. I’ve never seen it like this.”
Trucks are still stranded on the thruway. Highways around buffalo are closed.
“If the I-90 is open, you can take it to the 104.”
Drivers have been waiting more than two days now at the Fort Erie truck stop just to get over the border.
“I’m staying here safe and sound. I have a hazmat load. I’m not going on the road until they’re ready to go.”
These drivers have been told if Buffalo does get another one to two feet of snow, they’ll be here into next week.
“I didn’t think it would be this bad for this long.”
8 feet of snow in 3 days.
Fans of Buffalo sports teams won’t be seeing any home games over the next few days. The Sabres game set for Friday has been postponed. And the NFL says the Bills game scheduled for Sunday will be played Monday night at 7 at Ford Field in Detroit.
The clean up will take days. And there’s a rush to try and get things clear before an expected melt down this weekend. New York’s governor says the state had more than 12-hundred people working to remove all the snow.
They’re running more than 650 pieces of heavy equipment, including 463 snow plows. And the Bills home stadium is still under snow. Before today, the team had offered volunteers ten dollars an hour and a ticket to the game if they helped to clear the stadium.
The snow in Buffalo is also having an impact on border traffic in Detroit.
Take a look at the long line of trucks. Many of these drivers were re-routed, because of all the snow in Buffalo. And as the snow continues to pile up, drivers can’t make deliveries in upstate New York, so they’re being forced to sit with their loads along the Canadian border in between Detroit and Windsor.
