Federal Emergency Declaration is in effect for 11 New York counties after lake effect storm

A Federal Emergency Declaration is now in effect for 11 counties in New York buried by the lake effect storm.

Those counties are Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Jefferson, Lewis, Niagara, Oneida, Oswego, St. Lawrence, and Wyoming. Some parts of those counties saw nearly 7 feet of snow.

The federal government approved the request by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday. The request allows FEMA to get emergency aid to those counties in the form of search and rescue missions, protecting roads, bridges, and water pump stations.

The state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and other state agencies are working with local governments to support recovery after the snow storm.

“My team and I will continue working around the clock to keep everyone safe, help communities dig out, and secure every last dollar to help rebuild and recover from this unprecedented, record-shattering historic winter storm,” Hochul said. 

Three people have died as a result of the storm. All of them involved heart issues while shoveling. The last time New York State submitted an Emergency Declaration request for a similar winter storm was in 2014.