Social media becomes lifeline during historic Buffalo snowstorm
As emergency services became overwhelmed by the countless distress calls across the Buffalo area, communities came together to help save the lives of people stranded in the blizzard.
Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer checks in from the coastline of Lake Erie in Buffalo, New York, where the blizzard is progressing with high winds and storm surge.
An unrelenting bomb cyclone unleashed a ferocious lake-effect event in Buffalo, New York, during the heart of the holiday season, resulting in one of the deadliest blizzards the city has experienced. Stories of neighbors helping neighbors during this historic snow have emerged as officials continue digging the city out from the snow.
In the early morning hours of Christmas Eve, Sha'Kyra Aughtry, a Buffalo resident, heard someone screaming from the streets. After peering out the window, she spotted a man calling for help.
Aughtry's boyfriend carried the man, later identified as Joe White, a 64-year-old mentally disabled Buffalo resident, into their home. According to a Facebook live from Aughtry, White was so frozen they had to cut his socks off and use a blow dryer to dry his pants that were frozen to his leg, CNN reported. She also said they had to cut the straps off a grocery store bag, which he had used to cover his hands. The frostbite on White's hands was severe.
Aughtry called emergency responders for help, but when they told her she was on a list, she became worried for his safety. Without a background in medical care, she took to Facebook to plead for help.
A snow-covered street as seen from a residence in the Elmwood Village neighborhood of Buffalo, New York on Dec. 26, 2022, after a massive snowstorm blanketed the city. Along with drifts and travel bans, many streets were impassible due to abandoned vehicles. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
"I've called the National Guard, I've called 911, I've called everybody. But they keep telling me I'm on a list. I don't want to be on no list," Aughtry said in a Facebook live. "I don't care about nothing else. This man is not about to die over here."
About an hour later, in another Facebook live, Aughtry said her pleas were finally answered. A group of men had shown up at her house to take her and White to a hospital. White is currently recovering in the ICU with fourth-degree frostbite.
Yvonne White, Joe's younger sister, told CNN that it was a "miracle" he remembered her phone number.
"I'm hoping and praying for the best," Yvonne said.
White's employer, Ray Barker, told CNN that even though White had the day off from work, he might have thought he still needed to go in. Barker adds that White likely got disoriented after leaving his group home on Christmas Eve.
"The theater is really his whole life," Barker told CNN. "We've been worried sick about Joe...(Aughtry) clearly saved his life."
During the duration of the storm, social media has played a crucial lifeline not only for Aughtry but also for countless other Buffalo residents. A Facebook page, created in 2014 after Buffalo was buried under deep snow, regained popularity during this most recent event. Residents could post what they were looking for, whether it was food, medicine or shelter, and neighbors could look out for one another.
In this photo illustration, the social media applications logos, Twitter, Google, Google+, Gmail, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are displayed on the screen of an Apple iPhone. (Photo Illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images)
At least 39 of the storm's fatalities were reported in Erie County, New York, which includes the greater Buffalo area, County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Thursday.
Greg Monett, a 43-year-old Buffalo resident, turned to social media to beg for help shoveling a 6-foot pile of snow from the end of his driveway so he could get dialysis treatment on Tuesday.
Monett told The Associated Press the power went out at his family's house, and they resorted to running the gas stove to keep warm.
"We had to do what we had to do. We would have froze to death in there," Monett told the AP. "This has been a nightmare."
On top of the dialysis appointment Monett had to get to on Tuesday, his blood sugar dropped dangerously low on Sunday. His family called 911, but just like with Aughtry, emergency services couldn't respond right away. At one point, Monett nearly passed out from his low blood sugar but eventually recovered on his own.
A snow removal truck clears snow off route 33 after a winter storm rolled through Western New York Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, in Buffalo, New York. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
After he asked for some help on Tuesday, neighbors arrived to help Monett dig out his car, allowing him to make it to his dialysis appointment.
Craig Elston, the owner of C&C Cuts, didn't know that his shop would become a safe haven for storm survivors when he decided to stay open on Friday, despite the forecast of whiteout conditions, WKBW reported.
On Friday evening, a man knocked on Elston's shop door. His face was purple, and his skin was blistering from the cold, Elston told WKBW. He quickly welcomed the man inside, and after seven hours, the man finally warmed up.
Elston immediately took to social media, sharing that his shop was open and people could come for shelter and power. He said that 30 strangers showed up at the shop, and they all weathered the storm. The strangers soon became like family, celebrating the holiday and a Buffalo Bills win together as they rode out the storm.
In this photo, provided by the Twitter page of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, snow from this weekend's blizzard covers downtown Buffalo on Monday, Dec. 26, 2022. The blizzard roared through western New York Friday and Saturday, stranding motorists, knocking out power and preventing emergency crews from reaching residents in frigid homes and stuck cars. (Twitter page of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul via AP)
"I just felt like it was the right thing to do, to help people, and if I was in [that] situation, I feel like people would do the same," he said to WKBW.
On Tuesday afternoon, the snow eventually stopped falling. Buffalo officially surpassed 100 inches for the season on Monday; by Tuesday, the city's total reached 101.6 inches. For comparison, Buffalo had only 10.7 inches of snow last winter by the end of December. This is more than the city's seasonal average for the entire winter, which stands at 95.4 inches, according to AccuWeather forecaster Ryan Adamson.
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