STATE OF EMERGENCY
Hochul tells residents to stay home, be safe, take Nor'easter seriously
LATHAM, N.Y. >> New York Gov. Kathy Hochul held a press brief Monday morning at the Department of Transportation Garage on preparations for a Nor’easter.
The governor declared a state of emergency, effective at 8 p.m. Monday night. The long-duration event is anticipated to last into Wednesday morning. Hochul said her team has pre-set emergency personnel to prepare for the storm, and is in constant contact with local officials, along with activating the New York National Guard to help with the emergency response.
The state has deployed 4,300 personnel, and 8,000 utility workers, including 2,000 from the outside area. DOT has 259 pieces of equipment at the ready, including large and medium plow trucks, loaders, blowers, tow plows, 449 supervisors and operators on hand, and 26 operators repositioned to the Capital Region.
Hochul emphasized the importance for New Yorkers to stay home and off the roads on Tuesday.
“There’s no reason in the world to have plans to be out . the day to get ready. Do everything you need to do.
Stock up on the groceries, stock up on the batteries, stock up on any kind of chargers, everything you’re gonna need, additional light sources, because we’re gonna see serious loss of power,” Hochul remarked on the need to take precautions ahead of time.
She also warned New Yorkers to not become complacent.
“We’re not strangers to snow here but we also wanna make sure that that does not mean complacency sits in,” Hochul said.
“This will be a dangerous storm. Please stay off the roads. For your own
safety, stay in your homes, also for the safety of these incredible men and women throughout Upstate New York who will be giving up their time, working around the clock to make sure that the roads are plowed. It is very, very hard to plow the roads when there are people in front of you or cars that insisted on venturing out and end up in a ditch and had to be rescued,” Hochul explained on the severity of the storm.
“What complicates things, not just the snow coming down, and the rate of snow but when you add in the mix of a high wind event, we can get upwards of 45 and even higher, miles per hour and that’s when you get the lack of visibility and the inability for us to drive safely on the roads with the plows,” Hochul continued.
“The snow is also going to be very heavy. I’m kind of a professional on snow. I like good heavy snow for packing, it’s great for having a snowball war and for building snowmen. Those are activities I recommend in your backyard only,” Hochul noted.
“Heavy dense snow means one thing, it’s gonna take down the wires. This is not the light, fluffy, pretty Christmas snow, this is gonna come down like a brick,” Hochul added.
The governor additionally encouraged people to take their time shoveling and to look out for seniors and those most vulnerable.
Hochul also expressed her confidence in having enough resources readily deployed with the New York National Guard and utility crews from as far away as Canada to adequately address outages in a safe and timely manner.
“Yes, yes, 1,000 times yes, because this is how we use the experience we all have and I certainly had dealing with snowstorms from being a local official 30 years ago,” Hochul said.
“So, it’s all about putting people in place in advance, when you know the geographic area, which is a lot easier, you don’t always know that, now we know it. That’s why I was just chatting with crews in from Long Island, they may have some flooding but they’re not gonna need snowplow crews in Long Island, nor would they need them in New York City and we don’t expect we’re going to need them in Western New York. So, they’re here now, they have been called already, so that’s the difference in our strategy is be smart about it, not when the snow flies but before the snow flies and also bringing down utility crews as far away from Canada, because we wanna make sure we have every single person available, every truck available, to be able to not just restore the power immediately but to clear the lines off the roads, which become a dangerous situation,” Hochul explained on positioning crews and resources.
“Knowing the weight of the snow in advance tells us that there will be serious outages. We cannot guarantee how long it takes to restore power but we’ll know we have the people on the ground to be able to do that as soon as it’s safe to do so and that’s the difference I have to explain, it may take some time but we have people to do the right job at the right time as soon as it’s safe for them to be out there,” Hochul added on the type of response New Yorkers can expect.
In addition, National Grid announced they have increased staffing and are extending evening and overnight work shifts through Wednesday.
National Grid also encouraged customers to keep safety a priority with the following reminders:
Electricity and generator safety:
• If a power outage occurs, customers can notify National Grid online to expedite restoration.
• Generators used to supply power during an outage must be operated outdoors to prevent the buildup of deadly carbon monoxide.
• Before operating a generator, be sure to disconnect from National Grid’s system by shutting off the main breaker, located in the electric service panel. Failure to do this could endanger our crews and your neighbors.
• Customers who depend on electrically powered life support equipment, such as a respirator, should register as a life support customer by calling National Grid at 1-800-642-4272.
• Keep working flashlights and an extra supply of batteries in your home and be sure to charge all electronic devices before the storm.
• Use caution when driving near emergency responders and crews restoring power.
• Check on elderly family members, neighbors, and others who may need assistance during an outage.
Safety near downed power lines:
• Use extreme caution near downed power lines and wires, and always assume that they are carrying live electricity.
• Never touch a person or an object that is in contact with a downed line, as electricity can pass through to you.
• Take caution when approaching fallen trees, which could have power lines caught in them.
• Remember, water can conduct electricity. If you see a line down in a puddle or flooded area, avoid contact with the water to prevent the risk of shock,
Stay informed and connected
• Customers with active electricity accounts who text ‘REG’ to 64743 can have personalized alerts sent to them via text, email, or phone call when they detect an outage on their properties.
• Customers also can text ‘OUT’ to 64743 to report an outage.
• For real-time power outage information, online outage reporting, and in-depth storm safety information, visit National Grid’s Outage Central website. Customers who create an online profile also can sign up for email alerts.
• Customers can read the latest company news, check outage status, and report an outage by using the National Grid app.
• Visit their website: www.nationalgridus.com, follow them on Twitter, and friend them on Facebook.