Governor Andrew Cuomo is investing millions of dollars on improving the state's response to natural disasters, whether it's a hurricane sweeping through eastern New York or a lake effect snow storm battering Buffalo. His second-in-command, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, says it will be money well spent.
When lake snows buried parts of the Buffalo area last November, Governor Cuomo vowed to do better when it comes to responding to such storms.
Right now, the state is in the process of installing its own weather monitoring system at 125 sites statewide to supplement information from the National Weather Service.
During a recent visit to her hometown, Lieutenant-Governor Hochul said the state is spending $50 million on new equipment such as plows and loaders.
"The money invested now sounds like a large sum. But when you look at the costs of clean-up following Hurricanes Sandy and Irene and (the Buffalo storm) -- and there are ways we can prevent that or be ready to mitigate the damage -- it's money well spent," Hochul said.
The Governor said the creation of what he's calling "NY Responds" will insure a quick and effective response by the state when disaster strikes. He said emergency management software will be provided at no cost to local governments.