Buffalo
I just recieved an email from a friend from Århus, who is now in her home country of Austria, and she wanted to make sure my family in Buffalo was ok.
Wow. News does travel these days, doesn't it? It's amazing such a big deal could be made over a snowstorm in Buffalo. (Think about it, people.) But this one has left hundreds of thousands without power, and now without clean water.
My parents actually lost power later than most people, on Thursday night. They're also lucky that they have a gas-powered space heater in the basement, so they haven't been completely without heat. The tricky part for them is flooding. They're sump pump is electric, with a water-powered back-up.
Now the news is that the water-treatment plant in Buffalo, also without elecricity, doesn't have a back-up generator. So much for American disaster relief and "homeland security"! (Hey, if the government can't fathom a back-up plan for a snowstorm in Buffalo, we're all in Big Trouble.) Water has to be boiled, and people are supposed to use water sparingly. Some people have had their water turned off altogether. If the water gets turned off to my parents' house, the basement will begin to flood.
Meanwhile, in Williamsville, Doug has had an equally exciting few days. He lives in a group home run my Heritage Christian, and they have my full confidance that they'll continue to take excellent care of him and his housemates. The staff has had a rough few days, filled with scrambles for gas, heated accomidations, and food, often without land-lines or cell phones. They're hanging in there.
They lost power earlier than my parents, as did several of their other homes in the area, but unlike NYS, they had enough of a plan in place to keep all the residents warm, fed and comfortable. It took a short bit, but Doug's house now has a generator, and half of the house is heated. So Doug can cook, and can stay warm for the weekend.
Mom and Dad should move in with him for a few days!
Heather, how are your parents faring? Doug lives a few miles from them, and according to the Heritage staff, it's pretty rough down there.
posted by kris @ 10:52 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Well my parents and sister have taken up shelter....here! They have/had 30 inches of snow and lost power early on Thursday. The latest news is they'll get it back on Tuesday. They'll stay here till they do. The issue is that there are so many power lines and transformers down its not like they can fix one major line and restore everyone. I spent most of Friday finding information on open roads for them to use to get here since the Thruway was closed and there was a "no unnesessary travel" warning. They lost most of the tress on their property. They just snapped in half with the weight of the heavy wet snow on the trees that still had leaves on them! Its really going to take quite a while for all the cleanup. Trees are down literally everywhere and on many house the power lines were ripped right off the house as the trees fell. They're pictures are amazing and sad at the same time. It's just so bizaar though that I listened to my mom on the phone describe all the damage while I looked out my window at sunshine and green grass only 70 miles away!
Yeah, I wasn't sure this news story was real. I heard about Western NY getting piled on, but yet I flipped on the RIT Webcam or Rochester D&C webcams, and ......nothing. Not a flake (well, of snow). So I was curious if I heard about the right Buffalo. Heck, there's a Rochester, MN....maybe there's a Buffalo, Indiana.
How strange. Wonder what the drive was like from Buffalo to Rochester....as in, there's only 70 miles for a blizzard to turn into sunshine with bluebirds tweeting, and the only things nipping at your toes are squirrels at Mendon.
Hope you all are fairing well. It's dipped into the 70's down here, so Caleb has needed his jacket.
Yes, this one is quite a doozie, isn't it? My dad and brother both lost power - Dad moved in with my brother temporarily because my brother has a generator in his home. (Of course, driving to the gas station to refuel the generator meant driving around all of the dangling power lines.) Heather, that's amazing you figured out a route for your family to travel here. Kris, I can't imagine what it's like for your brother and the folks at Heritage at a time like this! I hadn't heard about the water problem - that's really serious! Hopefully everyone will be able to get some semblance of "normal" soon . . .
The latest update: My parents went home today to check things out. They are still without power or phone line and school has already been cancelled for the rest of the week. There is about 2 inches of snow still on their front lawn but the back is almost melted. They say you can't drive down a side road without alternating traffic. The number of lines and trees still down is unreal so most streets are only one lane wide. My mom and sister will probably return tomorrow and stay till the power returns. Dad will tough it out by the wood burning fireplace and work on cleanup. It sucks for them but I certainly don't mind the extra hands around here!
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