Thousands wander the streets wearing confused expressions. The lights flicker and die, the heat clicks off, and the faucet even slows to a trickle and stops. Emergency vehicles pick their way through debris and live power lines strewn about the roads in order to help those who are the worst off. Sounds like scenes from a post-apocalyptic blockbuster? No, it’s just mid-October in Buffalo.

This past Thursday, Mother Nature declared an icy war on the Buffalo area, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, reducing trees to splinters, and even shutting down the rarely closed University at Buffalo with a furious flurry of snowflakes accompanied by uncharacteristic thunder and lightning.

Beginning on Thursday afternoon, heavy lake-effect snow began to fall on our unsuspecting city, snow that most expected to stick to grassy surfaces and be gone by morning. However, the snows continued and, according to the National Weather Service, set two records: one for the earliest snowfall on record, and another for the most snowfall in October, with 8.6 inches, breaking the previous six-inch record set on Halloween in 1917.

But even this would not sate the snowy beast, as the flurries, which petered off through the afternoon hours, resumed with incredible snowfall rates overnight. This shattered the newly set record of the previous day, accumulating more than an additional foot of snow, bringing many already strained trees and power lines to the ground.

The storm was also responsible for shutting down a 105-mile stretch of the New York State Thruway from Dunkirk to Rochester. Some were stranded for hours and were brought food and water by emergency snowmobiles.

The Thruway situation further complicated power restoration efforts for National Grid and New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG), the area’s power companies. Tom Corbett, spokesperson for National Grid, said Saturday that all 50 of their crews in the Western New York division were out working on repairs, joined by approximately 700 additional crews from across the northeast. Some crews came from as far away as New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

“We were really held up by the Thruway being closed,” Corbett said, “as many of our support crews were held up in Batavia until the Thruway reopened.” He also reported that as many as 260,000 of their customers were without power at the height of outages and said that he expected service to return to 100 percent by Sunday, October 22.

The Associated Press reported that 392,000 Western New Yorkers were without power, and those not covered by National Grid receive their power from NYSEG, meaning that some 132,000 NYSEG customers remained powerless this weekend. Attempts to contact NYSEG for comment on their restoration efforts were unsuccessful.

Clean-up efforts were further hindered by a lack of preparation. Many municipal trucks were still working on leaf disposal and not expecting the sudden drop of two feet of snow, meaning that area highway departments had to rush to equip vehicles with plow attachments before even beginning to clear the roadways.

Even the United States Postal Service, widely assumed to deliver in rain, snow, sleet, or hail, was shut down Friday, offering no delivery service. A spokeswoman at the Amherst delivery center said Saturday that carriers were out attempting to deliver, but were hampered by impassable road conditions, making delivery “not 100 percent guaranteed.”

At least three fatalities were also attributed to the freak fall flurries. One man died when a tree limb fell on him while he was shoveling his Amherst driveway. The other two lives were claimed in traffic accidents, including an off-duty New York State Trooper in Lockport, according to WSTM-TV in Syracuse.

Calls placed Friday morning to the University at Buffalo Newsline, which serves “to provide information when office hours and class schedules will be altered as the result of inclement weather,” were greeted with the standard message that offices were open and that classes were on as scheduled. However, a call to the UB Campus Condition Hotline was answered by a recorded message saying that campus was closed, and informing callers that a State of Emergency had been declared in Amherst and that there was no unnecessary travel permitted.

The UB campuses were dramatically affected. Director of University Police, Gerald Schoenle, said in a phone interview on Saturday that while North Campus had not lost power, except a few isolated areas, South Campus was still without power. “Emergency lighting is on in hallways and common areas,” said Schoenle, adding that they were operating on back-up generators. He also commented that National Grid was trying to restore power, and it was estimated that it would return on Sunday.

UB also extended operation of the Student Union to 24 hours, according to a news release posted on their website. It said that they were providing food and movies to off-campus students seeking heat, power, and shelter. The release also stated “students living in off-campus hotels have been moved to the campus.”

The Union hosted a contingent of students from off campus, such as junior psychology major Scott Birkby, who was camped out in the Union since Thursday when he lost power at his Englewood home near South Campus. While he admitted that the experience has been inconveniencing, especially to his pets, for whom he has left ample food, he was in high spirits.

“I’m very thankful,” Birkby said. “I think the school has done a pretty good job.” He noted that while not a perfect experience, the Union had electricity, heat, and water. “There are a lot of people who don’t have any of that,” he remarked.

The Union wasn’t just home to off-campus students, however. Some South Campus residents had fled their powerless dorms for its fluorescent glow. Nikhila Thomas, a sophomore psychology major and international student from Kuwait, said, “At first it was fun…we [dorm residents] are getting close to each other.” But, as hundreds of thousands are discovering, living without power is only novel for a short time.

“In the bathrooms there are no lights,” said Thomas. “Very few people are left on campus.” Accompanying Thomas was her friend Nisha Babu, a sophomore physical therapy major who also hails from Kuwait. She lamented being unable to charge her cell phone and call her parents from South Campus, where emergency power left some sockets operational. “They said, ‘If you charge your phone, we’re going to charge you,’” Babu said.

Whether students camping in the Union took their situation with a smile or a frown, all agreed that more could have been done. “It’s good that they have this open,” said Ana Valenzuela, a junior exercise science major who was with six of her off-campus friends, “but we’re not very informed.”

“The university is not doing its duty,” said Thomas. “They told us we have to carry stuff for four days…It’s like a refugee camp.” Birkby, whose schoolwork is done mostly on computer, couldn’t get his work done. “I’m pretty upset about the library being closed,” he said. “Not everyone has laptops…they have to study.” Students were lined up at the quick connect terminals at Lockwood Library on Saturday, but the library itself remained closed.

The food situation was also a problem for those seeking Union refuge. While Ellicott dining halls continue to function, food services on the rest of the campus were effectively closed. Birkby estimates that he has spent around $30 at the vending machines during his three-day stint in the Union, not including the meal he scrounged at an Ellicott dining hall. Some students, like Valenzuela, found a gas stove either at home or in Ellicott and made an ample supply of food.

The situation in Western New York has attracted the attention of our leaders, as well. On Friday afternoon, Governor George Pataki surveyed the area by helicopter, The New York Times reported. He declared the four Western New York counties of Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Erie a disaster area. That article also said that Saturday afternoon the governor had requested President Bush to declare it a federal disaster area.

As of Saturday evening, the UB Newsline said that campus would be closed on Sunday, and that information regarding Monday would be released by 7 p.m. Sunday. UB’s Athletics Department also issued a statement late Saturday announcing the UB-Miami(OH) football game would be played at 1 p.m. Sunday, but asked that area residents respect the driving bans in effect and offered to exchange tickets for Saturday’s game for either the November 4 or November 24 home games.

Meanwhile, clean up efforts will continue throughout this week as utility companies, police, and fire departments, and area highway departments continue work to restore normalcy. Old Man Winter’s unexpected early arrival caught Western New York completely off guard, making Friday the thirteenth a day that will live in the minds of area residents, and reminding us that no amount of preparation can ever truly prepare you for life in Buffalo.