Boxing Day Blizzard

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
- lyrics to Let it Snow

In New York City, there has been a lot of buzz over the Boxing Day Blizzard that dumped two feet of snow on NYC and 3 feet in New Jersey (we got 10 inches in northern Westchester). Some residential roads were not plowed for three days and residents are angry. Ambulances became stuck and could not reach those who needed rescue. 911 was backed up to over a 1000 calls and had to triage by treating the most serious first and letting others wait. One woman with a broken ankle had to wait 30 hours for an EMT. Was it a work slowdown as some claim or ineptitude or just too much snow for the size of the work force? (this was the 6th largest snow storm in NYC history). The question is being investigated.

Even under the best of conditions, snow removal takes time. There are primary roads that get plowed first and often. Then secondary residential roads through neighbourhoods and finally tertiary roads like courts, dead ends, alleys, etc. The road our driveway connects to is tertiary - we know it will be plowed last.

The BermanPost.com says this about the event...

The recent blizzard has shown once again the importance of having at least a basic short-term food store. Intentional slowdown or otherwise, people found themselves trapped in their home or apartment unable to go out for sustenance. Even if not technically trapped, many were in a position where they did not want to be forced out to face the elements or on to the dangerous roads.
The importance of having enough to eat and drink for a few days is matched by the ease of preparation. On your next trip to the supermarket, buy a few bags of beef-jerky, a jar of honey, and a mini-keg of beer and/or a few gallons of water. When you get home, put them away together in a cool dark place. That’s it.

Bottom Line

Again from the BermanPost,

Keep in mind these few basic requirements; the food should be ready to eat (no need to microwave or cook), it must have a long shelf life (do not want to open up the cabinet with your emergency food to find it expired or spoiled), and it must be sufficiently nutritious to sustain you over those few days.

You should make it one of your New Years resolutions to be prepared. Part of being prepared for any emergency is making sure have food/water to eat/drink and are not forced to take unnecessary risks to acquire them.