Buffalo, NY Braces for Floods from Melting Snow - East Idaho News
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Buffalo, NY Braces for Floods from Melting Snow

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Getty 112414 BuffaloSnowShovels?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1416825688472John Normile/Getty Images(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — The worst is over for the Buffalo, New York, area as far as the snow is concerned.

Now comes the danger of epic floods with temperatures rising and the threat of rain with some suburbs still covered in seven or eight feet of snow.

At a news briefing Sunday, Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters, “Flooding in my opinion is worse than dealing with snow. It’s not water, it’s a toxic brew…It has all sorts of sewage in it.”

The chief worry in Buffalo-area towns like Hamburg or the city of Lackawanna is that rapid melting will turn basements and living rooms into swimming pools even as some homes had their roofs collapse under the weight of unprecedented autumn snowfall.

To that end, a frantic snow clean-up continues with the governor calling on trucks and equipment from other parts of the state, including Albany and New York City.

Meanwhile, emergency shelters have been set up by the Red Cross for possible evacuations should residents have to get out of their homes quickly.  Cuomo ordered over 50 boats and “swift-water” rescue teams to be at the ready for calls as waters rise.


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