As harsh winter weather moves across the United States, President Donald Trump announced that he has approved emergency declarations for Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana and West Virginia.
“We are working closely with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), governors and state emergency management teams to ensure everyone’s safety. Stay safe and stay warm!,” Trump tweeted on TRUTH as the US continues to grapple with crippling snow and heavy rain that has disrupted travel plans for many.
What does this mean?
The federal emergency declaration paves the way for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist with emergency work to remove debris or take emergency protective measures such as building repairs, NBC News reported.
The cost of such work is split between localities and the federal government, which foots 75% of the total bill.
Winter storms in the USA
Cold, snow, sleet and ice prompted emergency declarations, transit warnings, canceled flights and rattled energy markets. Overall, the storm could cost up to $24 billion in damage and economic losses, Chuck Watson of Enki Research said, according to Bloomberg.
The NWS Weather Forecast Center said the ongoing major winter storm will spread into the Mid-Atlantic states by Saturday night and then into the Northeast late Sunday.
Heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain will bring significant impacts to much of the eastern half of the United States.
About 190 million people — more than half of the U.S. — are under winter weather warnings in 37 states, from the Rockies to New England, according to NBC News.
A dangerous winter grips much of the central and eastern US, with wind chills as low as minus 20 and minus 30 and temperatures 10-40 degrees below average.
New Jersey Transit will temporarily suspend bus, light rail and Access Link service for a full day of service on Sunday, January 25. Trains will run until 14:00 on Sundays.
“It’s a good weekend to stay home if you need to make that last run to the grocery store or Home Depot. Do it now. Do it today,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said at a news conference Saturday. “All you need is go out today, get it and plan to stay off the road tomorrow.”
A massive U.S. winter storm stretching from the southern Rockies to New England is also straining power systems, causing cascading travel disruptions and threatening large amounts of snow and ice in some of the country’s most densely populated corridors.
Flights cancelled
So far, nearly 13,000 U.S. flights have been canceled between Saturday and Monday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
According to Bloomberg, it’s the worst level of disruption to air travel since last year’s US government shutdown that led to shortages of air traffic control personnel at airports across the country, snarling flights.
For some airlines, expected disruptions on Sunday are approaching levels not seen since the coronavirus pandemic decimated air travel, aviation analytics company Cirium said.
As of 9:30 a.m. New York time, 90% of flights from Memphis, 76% from Oklahoma City and 75% from Dallas-Fort Worth were canceled on Saturday.
Airports in Austin, Charlotte and Nashville were also hit hard, with the Washington and New York areas seeing more disruption as the storm progresses into Sunday.
