National Guard activated amid deadly western New York snow storm that has dropped more than 6 feet of snow in regionNew York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the activation of the National Guard Saturday to help with clean up in the historic and deadly snow storm that battered parts of western New York.
About 70 National Guard members were deployed to the badly-impacted southtowns, or the southern portion of Erie County, home to Buffalo, Hochul told NBC News affiliate WGRZ.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the National Guard was on the ground Saturday afternoon to "pickup and deliver people whom require dialysis," according to a tweet.
Intense snowfall continued overnight in the region, hitting Buffalo hard, Daniel Neaverth, the Erie County Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Services Commissioner, said in a news conference Saturday. The rate of the snowfall is up to 3 inches per hour, he said.
The snowfall will continue to impact the Great Lakes region this weekend, with lake-effect snow, which occurs when arctic air races across the relatively milder waters of the Great Lakes.
Erie County received the brunt of the snowfall, where two men died on Friday after suffering “cardiac events” due to shoveling or snow blowing. In Orchard Park, southeast of Buffalo, almost 6 1/2 feet of snow had fallen by 7a.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Hamburg, where the roof of a house collapsed due to the weight of the heavy, wet snow, received over six feet of snow, while southwest Blasdell had over five feet of snow.............
https://www.yahoo.com/news/national-guard-activated-amid-deadly-205641661.html