Dangers of falling snow and ice

AccuWeather

Being hit by falling ice can be dangerous. In some cases, it can lead to life-threatening injuries.

Transcript

00:00 After a major snowstorm,

00:01 you may see a caution sign around sidewalks.

00:04 It's to warn pedestrians about melting

00:06 ice that may fall from tall buildings

00:09 at one intersection in Chicago.

00:11 Cones were placed around several

00:13 chunks of ice that fell from a

00:15 building that houses a nail salon.

00:17 If you aren't careful,

00:18 a direct hit could land you in an

00:21 emergency room depending on the

00:22 size and the shape of the ice.

00:24 That's falling.

00:25 It could be any number of injuries,

00:27 so you know head injury or if you're

00:29 getting a pulse in the face or the

00:31 extremity it can cause anything from

00:33 bruising to also lacerations.

00:34 Doctor Tom Waters is an emergency

00:36 medicine physician at the Cleveland

00:38 Clinic Medical Center in Ohio.

00:39 He says being hit by ice is not

00:41 the most common winter injury,

00:43 but it does happen and it

00:45 can quickly lead to issues.

00:46 Much more common are slip and falls,

00:49 so we may see them in conjunction

00:51 to somebody gets hit by a piece

00:53 of falling ice and then slips

00:54 and falls to the ground.

00:56 If you want to avoid a trip to the

00:58 hospital, Doctor Water says to pay

01:00 attention to the signs in your

01:02 surroundings after it snows, you

01:03 know, right next to buildings and

01:05 awnings and things are going to

01:07 be your most dangerous spot.

01:08 So staying away from walking very

01:10 close to buildings and gutters

01:12 will obviously keep you safer.

01:13 And if you see icicles forming

01:15 above doors or in other areas,

01:17 you can reach, he says.

01:18 Avoid the temptation to touch them.

01:20 Once they break,

01:21 they can cause injuries or

01:22 lead to property damage.

01:24 For Accuweather, I'm Emmy Victor.

01:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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