February 24, 2023
Congressmen Langworthy and Higgins Request FEMA To Categorize Winter Storm Elliott As A Snowstorm Of Record
Leaders Seek to Gain Additional Federal Funding As Damage Exceeds Federally Determined Per-Capita Indicators.
In a letter to President Joe Biden and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Congressman Nick Langworthy (NY-23) and Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) are asking FEMA to recognize Winter Storm Elliott as a snowstorm of record and support granting New York State a Major Disaster Declaration that includes snow assistance.
Langworthy and Higgins, who both serve communities in Western New York impacted by the storm write, “While FEMA, New York State, and local applicants continue to work jointly on Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs), the storm’s damage is expected to exceed federally determined per-capita indicators. However, without recognizing the record blizzard conditions and granting snow assistance, our communities will not be eligible for the funds we greatly need.”
Sustained blizzard conditions starting on December 23, 2022, battered Western New York for over 37 hours, making this storm the longest-lasting blizzard in New York state history by a factor of two and the longest blizzard in the continental United States below 5,000 ft of elevation. As a result, the record-breaking storm claimed the lives of more than 40 people. Governor Kathy Hochul has also sent a letter in support of a Presidential Disaster Declaration.
