BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — As we approach the winter season, the City of Buffalo's Storm Response Task Force released plans on how to better handle weather events.
"I do feel like we're in a better place for this winter," Mayor Byron Brown said.
Following the fifth task force meeting at the Delavan Grider Community Center, the mayor said Thursday the city is feeling better prepared than it did last year.
The task force, comprised of city, county and state leaders, released winter weather assessments and recommendations intended to improve communication, add more equipment, and provide strategic operations and life-saving measures should another Buffalo see another blizzard or catastrophic storm.
The mayor also shared:
- The Department of Public Works has a total of 10 additional plows
- Five snowmobiles will be used to transport residents to shelters, rescue residents and deliver medical supplies
- The Buffalo Fire Department will have four UTVs
- Additional message boards will be installed around the city and high-traffic areas to alert residents of weather events
- There will be at least nine emergency shelters, one in each council district, equipped with generators, food and cots
The city will also use the Integrated Public Alert System, or IPAWS, for life-threatening events. It is designed to send push alerts to your phone, similar to Amber Alerts.
7 News' Kristen Mirand asked the mayor if there is any plan to reach a wider audience of people who do not have phones and address language barriers to convey storm messages.
"We have the ability to push out messages in different languages. We have been working with our new American community in translating winter safety messages," the mayor responded.
You may remember just after the blizzard, the mayor requested there be a position created for a fleet manager while Buffalo's Common Council wanted an emergency manager position created. Both positions were approved in February, but as we head into this winter those roles have yet to be filled. The mayor said at a press conference Wednesday in-person interviews for those roles will begin next week.
Mirand asked Brown if the city is still prepared to handle major weather events without those positions filled.
"We don't believe in the City of Buffalo that will have any adverse impact on our ability to respond to extreme winter weather," the mayor responded, "I've said all along that I did not believe that we needed a fleet manager or an emergency services manager to be prepared."
As the city waits to fill the roles, Buffalo Fire Commissioner William Renaldo is responsible for the city's emergency response. He addressed his handling of the blizzard after he was questioned about it.
"Well I consider it a false narrative to say that we did not have coordination or cooperation not only internally but externally and yeah we're getting better at it. We’ve had a lot of professional development, continuous education," Renaldo said, "I believe we’re gonna perform better during the next emergency."
