Emergency management officials respond to cold weather hazards

The snow marked an inconvenience across the state. Many of the local schools include Duke, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University cancelled classes and several local businesses were shut down due to the snow. The National Weather Service reported 1.4 inches of snow at Raleigh-Durham international Airport Wednesday, and 8 inches in northeastern North Carolina.

The Emergency Management section of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety took several measures in the face of the hazardous weather including a phone line to help individuals with traffic troubles and other emergencies. The emergency office sent out snow plows to clear the roads and manned a service phone line to help people with traffic troubles and other emergencies.

“We were actually fully prepared for this weather emergency—our facilities and power utilities all functioned well through the storm," said Julia Jarema, public information officer for Emergency Management. "The transportation was not bad as people expected."

Only two facilities shut down due to snow and few power outages were reported, but there was some "horrible" news, she added. Two individuals died in car accidents.

“There were two separate accidents during the snowstorm, but neither one of them buckled up when they were sitting in a car," Jarema said. "We did strongly emphasize the importance of keeping seat belts fastened.”

Emergency Management also spread weather alerts through television, radio, Twitter and Facebook and reminded people to stock supplies and take other precautions.

“State highway 751…and some highways in Chapel Hill and especially some of the secondary roads were palsied because of the snow and the bad weather," said David Marsee, Durham County Emergency Management Coordinator. "The street department got them cleared very soon. The city public workers worked through night to put the snow out of the street.”