updated: 11/21/2014 9:28 AM
As snow ends, Buffalo faces roof collapses, flooding
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A
snowfall that brought huge drifts and closed roads in the Buffalo area
finally ended Friday, yet residents still couldn't breathe easy, as the
looming threat of rain and higher temperatures through the weekend and
beyond raised the possibility of floods and more roofs collapsing under
the heavy loads.
More than 30 major roof
collapses, most involving farm and flat-roof buildings, were reported
overnight, officials said Friday, after snow Thursday brought the
Buffalo area's three-day total to an epic 7 feet or more. Little or no
snow was expected on Friday, and the forecast called for a chance of
rain on Saturday and more through Monday, along with temperatures of
about 60 degrees.
As towns and villages began
preparing for potential flooding, homeowners and store employees around
the region climbed onto roofs to shovel off the snow and reduce the
danger of collapse.
"Five hours yesterday and that's
just the beginning," John Normile said Friday of the effort to clear
snow from the roof of his Lake View ranch-style home. He, along with his
daughter and her boyfriend, had knocked about 6 feet off the back of
the house and planned to be back at it for a second day.
"We're getting really concerned about the weight of it," Normile said. "We've got to do it before the rain comes."
The storms were blamed for at
least 12 deaths in western New York, mostly from heart attacks and
exposure. The most recent victims were two elderly residents of a
nursing home that was evacuated amid concerns of a roof collapse, Deputy
Erie County Executive Richard Tobe said Friday.
"We know that relocating people from nursing homes is a very tough thing to do," Tobe said.
More than 50 people were
evacuated from several mobile home parks in suburban Cheektowaga and
West Seneca on Thursday because roofs were buckling. Tobe said at least
90 small roof collapses involving carports and other structures had been
reported by Friday morning, in addition to damage to a pharmacy and a
metal warehouse operated by a Christmas decorations company, where
damage was estimated in the millions.
Some farm animals had been injured in damaged barns, he said.
With roads impassable, driving
bans in effect and the Buffalo Bills' stadium buried in snow, the NFL
decided to move the Bills' Sunday home game against the New York Jets to
Monday night in Detroit.
National Guardsmen drove nurses
to their hospital shifts. State troopers helped elderly residents
trapped in their homes. State officials assembled 463 plows, 129 loaders
and 40 dump trucks from across the state for a massive cleanup effort.
Some Buffalo-area schools were closed for the fourth day, burning through snow days with winter still a month away.
A stretch of the New York State
Thruway through western New York remained closed, with more than 300
truckers idled at truck stops and service areas, waiting for the highway
to reopen.
With deliveries interrupted, some grocery stores reported running low on staples like bread and milk.
"No matter how you cut it, this
event will end up in the top five for the Lake Erie area," said National
Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini.
On Friday, cities and towns were
positioning pumps and other equipment in anticipation of widespread
flooding. The worst is expected Monday when, with temperatures at or
above 60, snow is expected to melt faster than it can be absorbed by the
ground or snowpack.
"There's roughly the equivalent
of six inches of rain in the snowpack that will essentially be released
over two days," Tobe said. "If it was released as rain it would be a
monumental storm."
But flooding will likely affect
mostly basements and creeks, he said. "It's not going to be this giant
flooding like you see in hurricanes," he said.
Even for the Buffalo area -- one
of the snowiest and hardiest places in America -- this was one for the
history books. The three-day total is close to the nearly 8 feet that
the region typically gets over an entire year.
Because the Buffalo area is so
snowy, building codes require homes and businesses to be able to handle
up to 50 pounds per square foot on their roofs, which would be about as
heavy as a slab of concrete 4 inches thick, according to Mark Bajorek, a
structural engineer.
As anyone who has ever shoveled
snow knows, its weight depends in part on how wet or fluffy it is, not
just on how deep it is. But Bajorek said some buildings may be close to
that limit now, with more precipitation on the way.
Engineers were expected to be out Friday trying to determine how much water was in the snowpack.
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Associated Press writers Michael Hill and Mary Esch contributed from Albany.
end quote from:
As snow ends, Buffalo faces roof collapses, flooding
People under about age 50 who can still get up on the roof and safely shovel off the snow with a spotter in case they fall off into a drift will likely be okay with their roofs staying intact. People who can find someone to hire to do this will also be okay. However, the people I worry about are over 50 not in good enough health to do this and not able to afford to hire someone to do this. These people might die or be seriously injured when their roofs collapse if it rains and the rain collects as weight in the snow on their roofs.
People under about age 50 who can still get up on the roof and safely shovel off the snow with a spotter in case they fall off into a drift will likely be okay with their roofs staying intact. People who can find someone to hire to do this will also be okay. However, the people I worry about are over 50 not in good enough health to do this and not able to afford to hire someone to do this. These people might die or be seriously injured when their roofs collapse if it rains and the rain collects as weight in the snow on their roofs.
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