New York State has declared a State of Emergency for all of Western New York and parts of northern Central New York. The action comes after the National Weather Service officially declared a Blizzard Warning in Erie, Genesee, Wyoming, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Monroe, Livingston, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego and Wayne counties.
Senator Tim Kennedy spoke to New York State's Commissioner Homeland Security and Emergency Services Jerome Hauer, Wednesday afternoon.
Kennedy said the commissioner told him that the New York State Thruway Authority is dispatching additional crews to help mitigate the excessive snow on state thruways. The state is also prepared to assist with local roadways if necessary.
“We’re sending resources from New York State to our region through the department of transportation, the department of environmental conservation and several other agencies to help alleviate the burden on local municipalities as we battle this storm,” said Kennedy.
Kennedy says he believes the state responded accordingly as the blizzard is expected to continue into Wednesday evening. The state is also prepared to help with the aftermath of the storm.
“The commissioner assured me that the state office of Homeland Security and Emergency Services is going to be ready to help local communities with flooding issues that arise after the melt. I urged the commissioner to get more deeply engaged in helping western New York in mitigate against flooding problems, which have devastated some local neighborhoods this year as we’re all aware,” said Kennedy.
Kennedy encourages Western New Yorkers to avoid unnecessary travel and adhere to travel advisory and bans in their area.