Buffalo Braces For Floods After Record Snowfall

Families are packing away their valuables and many schools are closed as Buffalo and other areas in New York state brace for possible flooding after record snowfall.

Temperatures were expected to hit nearly 15C (60F) on Monday, melting up to seven feet (2m) of snow.

Residents have been preparing for evacuations and hundreds of members of the New York National Guard has arrived to help with flood prevention.

They spent Sunday clearing storm drains and culverts to facilitate runoff, and shovelling snow off roofs.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for Monday and cautioned that trees weakened by heavy snowfall and saturated soil could come crashing down.

Rain showers were also forecast.

"Err on the side of caution," Governor Andrew Cuomo said late on Sunday.

"You prepare for the worst and hope for the best, and that's what we're doing."

Officials have been moving in hundreds of pumps and tens of thousands of sandbags, as they put together a robust evacuation plan.

Three sandbagging machines and 176,500 sandbags were among the supplies taken to the affected areas.

Roofs collapsed and some people were stuck in their cars for more than 24 hours when the heaviest snow fall in memory hit areas of New York state along the Great Lakes last week.

The November storm system lasted for three days.