The violent winter storm that hits the USA strongly marks the spirits. When Camille Le Caer recounts the four days of hell she has just experienced, the words come out by themselves. And Christmas 2022 will certainly remain etched forever in her memory and in that of her children Émile, 4 years old, and Leia, 6.
“The temperature in the apartment dropped by 10 degrees every hour”
“Friday and Saturday were the hardest days,” says the young chef who has lived in the United States for ten years. I had never experienced such a situation before. The snow was falling in gusts and the wind was very strong and quickly lowered the temperatures. I was locked up at home with my two children. We soon found ourselves without electricity and therefore without heating. The temperature in the apartment dropped by 10 degrees every hour. It was maddening. Very quickly we dropped below 0° Celsius.”
Camille is responsive. He and his children take refuge in the living room and wrap themselves in heavy blankets, hats on their heads. “It was freezing cold. From time to time I filled hot water bottles which I heated with gas. I didn’t want to use it anymore for fear of carbon monoxide poisoning. I spent many hours with my children without sleep for fear that they would suffer from the cold. My little one was also sick.
Six hours of generator then cold again
Camille doesn’t want to cut off contact with the outside world. So, from time to time, she will recharge her tablet and laptop in her vehicle parked near her home. “I was in contact with my parents and my sister. They supported us.” Saturday morning one of her neighbors will lend him a portable gas heater. And in the hours that followed he was able to hook up to a generator. “We had fun for six hours. Then nothing. However, all this allowed us to organize a little something near Christmas. I made the gift boxes with gloves. Not easy “.
It will be long hours before the National Guard reaches the city. “It was chaos. On the first day, there were 50 soldiers. There are now more than 1,200 in the city. It was time for them to arrive, as thieves were taking advantage of the situation to loot apartments and shops. At noon on Sunday, Camille decided to go to a friend’s house who had electricity. “I took two bags, my children on my back and walked for half an hour in the snow. I was on my knees. The cold burned our lungs. We were finally able to breathe. I had only one fear, it was to fall. It happened to a 56-year-old neighbor, he froze to death on the street ”.
“We are still very vulnerable”
In the days ahead, Camille intends to compile a list of everything she might need in case of another snowstorm. Like a survival reflex. “This episode taught me something important. It is that we can be surrounded by the greatest technicality, we always remain very vulnerable ”.
The mercury is expected to reach 10 degrees Celsius in Buffalo on Friday. “These temperature differences scare me. Something is really wrong,” Camille worries.
