A boy stands on a snowbank in the south Buffalo area on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014, in Buffalo, N.Y.BUFFALO, N.Y. – First came the big storm, then the big dig. Now comes the big melt.
Residents of flood-prone areas around Buffalo should move valuables up from the basement, pack a bag and prepare for the possibility of evacuation as up to 7 feet of melting snow posed the threat of flooding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned Sunday.
“Err on the side of caution,” Cuomo said at a news conference in Cheektowaga. “You prepare for the worst and hope for the best, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Across the Buffalo region – where rising temperatures were expected to approach 60 degrees on Monday – people took that advice to heart.
In Hamburg, Pete Yeskoot bought a portable generator to make sure his sump pump will keep working once the roughly 80 inches of snow that fell on his property melts. Possessions are up on blocks in the basement and he has food for several days.