The Ohio Emergency Management Agency is urging people to take preventive actions as frigid cold hits this week.
Officials say people should protect water pipes and check to ensure that neighbors and family members have adequate heating and food and water. They also advise people to dress in layers and leave as little skin exposed as possible to avoid frostbite. Travelers should keep emergency supplies in their vehicles. Doctors are reminding people how to prevent frostbite and the heart problems that come with shoveling snow. Cleveland Clinic physician Seth Podolsky says frostbite is easy to address, and the symptoms are easy to recognize.
Podolsky suggests people who shovel snow pace themselves, and try pushing instead of lifting.
Podolsky says seniors who do not exercise on a regular basis should ask someone else to shovel snow. A West side community center has opened its doors to anyone who needs to escape the weather. The city's Dodge Recreation Center is providing space for the homeless to get warm, clean and fed. Recreation center employees say they expect to serve at least two-dozen people a day.