Wicked snowfall continues to claim lives in western New York, with death tolls still not totally clear, and crime breaking out across the city of Buffalo.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz confirmed that a 22-year-old woman was found dead in a car in Buffalo, marking the 13th confirmed death related to the storm. WIVB reports that the number is at least 18, with 11 in Buffalo and three in Cheektowaga and three in Amherst.
Mass looting in New York during Buffalo blizzard #looting#buffaloblizzard #BuffaloLooting pic.twitter.com/7UG3l6ElBn
— OFFGRID Survival (@offgridsurvival) December 26, 2022
Poloncarz said that he anticipated that number to grow, tweeting “Unfortunately, we do expect that number to grow.
Fox News writes that, according to the National Weather Service, “the temperature in Buffalo was 16 degrees early Monday morning with continued snow. Poloncarz announced that a driving ban remained in effect for Buffalo, Lackawanna, Amherst, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Evans, Hamburg, Orchard Park, and West Seneca. He said that as of Monday at 7 a.m., the ban would be lifted in other parts of the county.”
State Police are assisting snow removal crews with search and rescue. Erie County driving ban is still in affect. Stay off the roads, unnecessary vehicles traveling hinder crews from rescue and rescue. pic.twitter.com/Zq8dAplvyf
— NewYorkStatePolice (@nyspolice) December 26, 2022
Power outages have also been a huge concern for the state. The National Grid reports that 13,377 people have no power in the Empire State, with 12,426 of them being in Erie County.
That number is down from Sunday morning, when 26,404 had no power, “so good progress has been made,” Poloncarz said.
