Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Oh what a night is was for thousands of residents in the City of Buffalo as hurricane force wind gusts toppled trees, downed power lines and left significant damage to numerous homes and properties.
Along Hodge Avenue and Bryant Street in the Buffalo Elmwood district Monday morning, residents could be seen standing on the sidewalks and in their backyards assessing the damage from Sunday's windstorm that ravaged the region.
On one home along Bryant Street, a large tree crashed down and took out the corner of a home, exposing a second floor nursery, leaving a crib exposed to the elements. No injuries resulted from the damage.
"We're looking at a week for cleanup…..we'll be working on this for the rest of this week," said Buffalo Public Works Commissioner Michael Finn as he updated the storm cleanup efforts. Finn said as of 10:30am Monday, 1100 city National Grid customers were without power, down from 7000 at the peak of the storm.
Finn says the city had received a total of 56 calls for tree issue, including 34 whole trees. Four forestry crews are working in the city and at least 14 of the downed trees had been addressed.
For perspective, Finn says, "From the October Storm in 2019 we had over 200 at the end of the storm." Finn expects the number of tree reports to rise, but not to the level of the 2019 storm as all leaves are off most trees.
Flooding was a major concern at the height of the storm as a seiche occurred along Lake Erie, raising the water level more than 11 feet, pushing water into streets and homes in the city's Old First Ward district.
Buffalo Fire Commissioner William Renaldo says the department's swift water rescue unit was on standby in the First Ward and was used to assist motorists stranded in flooded roadways. "There were a number of motorists stuck under viaducts," Renaldo said.
In addition to damage at homes, some businesses were damaged from the strong winds. Finn says Shea's Performing Arts Center suffered some significant damage to a small portion of their roof. It is not believed the damage led to any interior issues at the facility.
For homeowners dealing with downed trees, there are a few considerations for city residents. If the tree is in the city 'right of way' or on city property, city crews will handle. For a privately owned tree entangled in power lines, says Finn, "National Grid will come out, they will address what needs to be addressed as far as the power lines go and then they may leave the rest to the property owner."
