Biden declares a state of emergency in New York State to provide federal aid

The President of the United States approved a state of emergency for New York state, the most affected by Storm Elliot, to facilitate federal aid to respond to the needs of the population, the White House announced.

With the statement, Joe Biden approves federal support for state and local governments to deal with the impact of the storm, which caused at least 50 deaths nationwide, including 27 in the state’s northwest.

The U.S. president authorized the Department of the Interior and the Emergency Management Agency to coordinate the measures needed to deal with the situation and “ease the hardship and suffering” caused by the storm, according to a statement from the U.S. White House.

In what officials called the deadliest storm in 50 years, roads in western New York are still impassable. @MonaKAbdi reports of the rising death toll in Buffalo and how the intense conditions left people trapped in cars battling the perilous cold. https://t.co/MwMryUKnRJ pic.twitter.com/Mnm00DnpUH

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) December 27, 2022

Crews continue clearing roads and excavating snow after a winter storm that caused snowstorms in Buffalo and western New York. https://t.co/EgGS9cjsoV pic.twitter.com/tM7yqP5uER

– Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) December 26, 2022

Caused by an arctic cold frontthe storm hit the United States from the Great Lakes, near the border with Canada, to the Bravo, or Grande, River, on the border with Mexico, affecting about 60% of the country’s population.

Heavy snow and tornadoes left thousands of people isolated at home, thousands of passengers stranded on Christmas Eve, due to canceled flights and blocked roads, as well as power outages in nearly 1.7 million homes and businesses due to electrical infrastructure failures.

New York City reached a minimum temperature of -10.5 degrees Celsius (C) on Christmas Day, not seen since 1872, while Washington, the US capital, had -10 degrees C (-10 degrees C) its coldest Christmas since 1983 and Tampa, Florida, reached temperatures below zero, not seen since 1966.