Blizzard Response in Buffalo Under Scrutiny
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A New York University report published in June 2023 outlined a variety of steps that cities should take to improve blizzard response in the future. This comes on the heels of a deadly winter storm that pounded Buffalo and the surrounding areas in December 2022. Although the report focuses on municipalities, many of the findings are relevant to electric utilities as well.
Recommendations for Improving Blizzard Response
One of the report’s recommendations is to empower first responders to know “what resources are available to them and use them creatively.” The example cited by the report is the fact that Buffalo police personnel wore wetsuits to provide greater insulating properties during the storm. While it is unreasonable to include the usage of wetsuits in utility emergency plans, the overarching point, which is important, is that sometimes emergency situations present curveballs that must be addressed creatively because not every possible scenario can be documented in a plan.
Another of the report?s recommendations is to establish a “battle rhythm” for facilitating 2-way communications across all stakeholders. A related recommendation is to closely manage social media content before, during and after blizzard response activities. Obviously, communication is of critical importance for utilities during emergency situations, and the implication here of having scalable protocols to optimize the process is highly relevant.
Another of the report?s recommendations is to leverage local businesses during the recovery process, as was done in Florida during Hurricane Ian by partnering with Uber and Lyft to transport residents to safety. For utilities, Uber could potentially help employees navigate compromised travel conditions. Other examples for utilities include partnering with hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and similar entities that can provide value during storm recovery operations.
Other potentially relevant recommendations from the report include utilizing cell phone notification systems, providing emergency supplies to customers (especially those that are in a high-risk category), and leveraging public transportation systems to help employees get around.
Overall, I think the report is useful for both municipalities and utility companies, and it applies to not only blizzard response, but also recovery from similar events like hurricanes and tornadoes. Definitely worth a quick read!
