Snow on the Flat Roof

We've gotten well over four feet of snow in the last month. It's deep and beautiful, and very little has melted. Which made me worry when I read this from the National Weather Service:

A GENERAL 10 TO 30 INCHES OF SNOW DEPTH REMAINS ON THE GROUND...WITH THE DEEPEST SNOW DEPTH VALUES ACROSS CONNECTICUT.

3 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT IS IN THE CURRENT SNOWPACK ACROSS THE AREA. THIS RESULTS IN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WEIGHT PER SQUARE FOOT.

THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTS OF COLLAPSED ROOFS DUE TO THE WEIGHT OF THE SNOW...AND WITH THE THREAT OF YET ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT STORM SYSTEM EXPECTED DURING THE MIDDLE OF THIS WEEK...NOW IS THE TIME FOR RESIDENTS AND BUILDING OWNERS TO TAKE PREVENTATIVE ACTION TO SAFELY REMOVE SNOW FROM FLAT ROOF TOPS AND DECKS.

We have roofs on two levels -- a flat roof with a deck on the one-story section of the house, and a slightly pitched roof on the two-story section. Getting to the flat roof is easy: there's an outdoor staircase as well as a door from the second floor of the house. I just came in from shoveling most of the snow off it.

To get to the pitched roof, you need a ladder from the deck, which is a pain but not terribly hazardous. Being on the roof itself though can sometimes make my knees ache from a slight vertigo. I have to think seriously about whether I want to tackle that job.

Are owners of other modern houses in the northeast worried about the weight of the snow on their roofs? -- ta