A Tale of Two Disasters
In 1977, Buffalo was struck by an unforeseen blizzard that paralyzed the city for over a week and killed 29 people. Buffalo was ill-prepared due to a lack of a robust emergency management system and the economic strain from deindustrialization. In response to this disaster, federal, state, and local governments overhauled their policies to better prepare for, mitigate, and respond to winter storms.
Fast-forward 45 years to December 2022, when another blizzard hit Buffalo. While this storm was anticipated, allowing for preparations by city, county, and state governments, it still resulted in 47 fatalities, and the city remained partially closed for days.
This Marcus Lecture talk will compare the responses to these two blizzards, examining the evolution of emergency management in the Buffalo metropolitan region and offering policy recommendations for future winter storms.
Talk info: https://www.sunybrockporthistorydept.net/timelines/2024-marcus-lecture-a-tale-of-two-disasters-the-buffalo-blizzards-of-1977-2022/
