By Katie Beck
In Tonawanda, the community is sure to have been through a random seasonal change or two in their lives. Friday, October 13th, many people woke up to a big mess, due to a snowstorm Thursday night. Some locals stuck it out for over a week with candles, and lots of them.
“Luckily we didn’t have too many trees in our yard, but it’s going to be so sad to see our street so bare in the spring,” said Jackie Eichelberger from the Town of Tonawanda.
Locals stocked up on flashlights, ice and non-perishable foods for their family.
“I’m going to do my shopping so next time I can be better prepared for a storm like this,” said Eichelberger.
Here’s a list of things people should have next time there is a power outage:
“The only place open was Wegmans, so I went there and charged my family’s cell phones and had some lunch. The people in our neighborhood really came together and helped each other, and surprisingly everyone was cheerful,” said Eichelberger.
While driving down some streets commuters could see extension cords from one house to another, young kids helping out the elderly, and smiling faces, even in a state of emergency.
The numerous cleaning crews showed up to pick up tree limbs and other debris. Most streets were blocked off to make working on them easier for the massive trucks.
“The truck that was in our driveway getting a tree off of our garage roof was from Pittsburgh, I thought it was nice that those people came out here to help us. When the power came back on the neighborhood threw a little party. I talked to neighbors that I have never talked to before and created friendships during this awful eight days without power,” added Eichelberger.
Erie County Executive Joel Giambra updated this information in regards to the aftermath of the storm.
“After conferring again this morning with Governor Pataki, I have ordered our emergency command to immediately hire qualified contractors who can get the debris off our streets and out of the way. I made this decision because we have reached the limit of public resources. We have to move with more help and we have to do it now. I want to thank FEMA for its extraordinary commitment and help,” Giambra wrote on his Web site.
Regardless of FEMA’s response, Buffalo pulled through this. Not very many people will receive any relief from FEMA, the requirements for relief was very specific. If you want to contact FEMA and file your claims call 1-800-621-FEMA.
Contact Katie Beck at beckka87@mail.buffalostate.edu
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