Governor Hochul: "[T]he basic message is, we're going to continue to keep warming centers open, encourage people to stay home. Roads are closed throughout Western New York and will be, probably through Christmas Day.”
Hochul: “In addition to having a statewide Emergency Declaration, I'll be asking the federal government for a Declaration of Emergency that’ll allow us to seek reimbursements for the extraordinary expenses of all the overtime and the fact that we've brought in mutual aid from other parts of the state.”
Hochul: “I did want to put a special spotlight right now on the City of New York. It got through some tough circumstances, with the high winds, the ice, the freezing cold. And it is still a dangerous situation. We want to confirm that just because you see clear skies and the rain has stopped and the flooding seems to have abated, that it is still vulnerable because of the icy cold temperatures which can be life-threatening.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul held a briefing to update New Yorkers as a winter storm continues to move through the state. The Governor also surveyed damage from the storm in Far Rockaway. Governor Hochul declared a statewide State of Emergency ahead of the winter storm, which went into effect at 6 a.m. on Friday. Governor Hochul advised New Yorkers planning to travel to reconsider as road conditions remain icy and dangerous across the state.
I just completed a very chilly, can I say the least, tour of part of Far Rockway to assess the damage that was occurring here as a result of flooding. Upwards of three feet of water rushed through the streets, damaged some of the homes. We had a chance to speak to some of the homeowners about the stresses they're under and working on the cleanup as well. So, I wanted to come and just talk to some of the locals and also our elected officials who have been great partners in this effort, as they always are, but particularly when their constituents need assistance, they know who to call, and that's why I'm here today.
I do want to, first of all, thank Congressman Greg Meeks, who was on the tour with us for helping us with any assistance. We're going to meet with FEMA. Statewide, we need all the voices of our delegation to help get through this storm. It has different impacts throughout the State of New York, and I'll be getting to that in a couple of minutes, but thank you, Congressman Greg Meeks. Borough President Donovan Richards is here, again, someone who has been hands-on dealing with disasters since our first days working together. Very experienced in what has been happening in his beloved Borough of Queens, especially as we deal with the wrath of Mother Nature. So, thank you, Borough President Donald Richards.
So, I'll be giving a statewide storm assessment, an update, but let's just talk about where we walked through. We saw on the Bayside when the bulkheads were compromised, once again, we know we needed assistance from the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild them. They've been damaged since Sandy and the State of New York and the City of New York are certainly going to be helping that effort to protect the neighbors from the water rushing out of the bay and flooding the streets.
So, that was something we saw firsthand. And also, knowing that the freezing temperature, the water literally froze and created something that was reminiscent of a skating pond or an ice-skating rink. And it's very, very dangerous, especially for our senior citizens as they try to venture out. Walking on that ice and even driving on that ice is incredibly dangerous. So we're going to be making sure that people understand that.
We also want – Kathryn Garcia will be giving some more updates, but our transportation systems are working well. We had some stoppages on the trains yesterday, delays at the airports, but the airports are open. The subways, the trains are all functioning, which is quite miraculous given the severity of what this area went through just a short time ago.
The bone-chilling cold continues to be a problem. It compromises the safety of all individuals, particularly our vulnerable seniors. People are in their homes without heat in some places of our state. It's been a real challenge for us. So there is not one place in the State of New York where the temperature is above zero as far as the real-feel temperature. That's what it feels like on your skin. And so, this may be an historic event in that respect alone that every part of New York is suffering the effects of this Arctic Chill that continues to stay over our state.
Also, if anyone else needs any assistance, we would encourage them to call 311. Commissioner Iscol will be talking about the resources available here as well.
I will now turn to what is happening in Western New York for those of you who want an update on my hometown. Last night, I had to bring in the National Guard. The conditions, the blinding snow, the zero visibility, absolute whiteouts, it may go down as one of the worst in history. People are comparing this to the dreaded blizzard of ‘77, where Buffalo first got its reputation for having an unprecedented amount of snow. We broke that record again a month ago.
So it's very clear to me that the effects of climate change are wreaking havoc everywhere from the streets of Queens with flooding, all the way up to the City of Buffalo.
But it is life-threatening, what is going on as we speak in Buffalo. Getting calls through the night from frightened neighbors where the temperature's been off for many, many hours – over the course of a day, day and a half. And we still have, statewide, about 73,000 homes without power concentrating about 33,000 of those in Erie County, about 7,000 in Niagara County, about 5,000 in Genesee County.
So that seems to be the epicenter of this storm that just doesn't seem to be moving on. It is concentrated there. And so the National Guard had to come in to help with medical emergencies, people who cannot get to the hospital if necessary, to help doctors and nurses get to their jobs in hospitals and health care facilities, as well as helping our seniors who are stranded.
So we have had people stranded on the highways. I understand that the New York State Thruway, which remains closed in the Western part of the region, we had over 20 people stranded in a very small stretch up until just a short time ago, as well as several hundred who've been stranded on various roads throughout the region.
What happens in those circumstances? People literally trapped in their cars overnight. Fortunately, our State Police were able to make contact with every single individual, and we literally had snowplows going up to the vehicles and rescuing people, taking them out, and getting them into warming centers because it is absolutely dangerous for anyone to be on the roads – and that includes our emergency vehicles. So our National Guard, our first responders, our ambulances, our fire trucks are all getting stuck in the snow as well. In fact, almost every fire truck in the City of Buffalo is stranded, it is stuck in snow. And we're just getting through releasing of about 14 or so ambulances that were stuck as well.
So you can imagine what's going on here. People who need help are being trapped because they cannot get the emergency response because it's unsafe to be out there. So we have search and rescue operations continuing throughout the region. And the basic message is, we're going to continue to keep warming centers open, encourage people to stay home. Roads are closed throughout Western New York and will be, probably through Christmas Day.
And it's really sad for all the individuals who have not been able to see family members – airport delays, and not able to be driving because of driving bans. But it is more important that people stay safe. You'll have your holiday with your loved ones over New Year's and into the next year. But this is a weekend where it is absolutely dangerous in some parts of our state, particularly the Western part, to be out there. So we want to encourage people to stay where they are.
In addition to having a statewide Emergency Declaration, I'll be asking the federal government for a Declaration of Emergency that’ll allow us to seek reimbursements for the extraordinary expenses of all the overtime and the fact that we've brought in mutual aid from other parts of the state. We've deployed individuals, whether it's the utility crews have come, but also making sure that we have all the vehicles we need. But literally, they cannot get through right now, no matter how many emergency vehicles we have, they just can't get through the conditions as we speak.
So that is what's happening in other parts of the state. At this point, I'll be asking Kathryn Garcia, the Head of Statewide Operations who's been embedded with all of us in our command centers monitoring what's going on throughout the state.
But I did want to put a special spotlight right now on the City of New York. It got through some tough circumstances, with the high winds, the ice, the freezing cold. And it is still a dangerous situation. We want to confirm that just because you see clear skies and the rain has stopped and the flooding seems to have abated, that it is still vulnerable because of the icy cold temperatures which can be life-threatening.
So with that, Kathryn Garcia, let's have a report from you.
With that, I just received word of two announcements related to Buffalo. The Buffalo Airport will be closed at least until 11:00 a.m. Monday, and so I think that's going to be, unfortunately, very disruptive to those who wanted to leave or arrive and spend time with family over the Christmas holiday.
And also, the roads are not safe. So I would just say, as hard as it is, be sure to make your holiday plans for another time if you're not already united with your family because Mother Nature threw the kitchen sink at us this time. I said she throws everything but the kitchen sink, I'm fully expecting to see the kitchen sink fall out of the sky because we've been hit with everything, from wind and flash freeze, and unprecedented high velocity of wind at almost 80 miles an hour in Buffalo and other parts of the state, very high numbers, as well as the snow, ice, flooding.
So it's been a very tough one. But we have the most experienced storm team in America – the team that supports me, and I also want to thank the Commissioner of OEM from the city for all the incredible work the city does.
I've been in contact with Mayor Adams as well, making sure that we know all the issues that we wanted to address and that's what we have. Also, the loss of two lives in Buffalo, storm related, because people are not able to get to medical attention, which is, again, a crisis situation that unfolds before your eyes. And you realize that life-saving ambulances and emergency medical personnel cannot get to people during a blizzard situation.
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