NY governor summons military to enforce climate-induced driving ban

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has brought in the National Guard to enforce a driving ban currently set in Buffalo as a severe snowstorm ravages the city. In addition to the over-250 National Guard officers, Hochul will also deploy state troopers to assist in enforcing the restriction. 

The storm has caused 30 confirmed deaths, according to ABC News, with 28 of those in Buffalo’s Erie County. Most of those deaths have reportedly been found in cars, and 50 inches of snow and 80 miles-per-hour winds have left the city littered with abandoned vehicles. 

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown went on the radio to demand residents get off the roads, telling them they are “adding to the problem” and suggesting they are endangering lives if they drive. 

"I'm not asking. I'm not pleading. I'm telling you: Get off the roads right now in the City of Buffalo," the mayor said in an interview on WBEN radio. 

"You are adding to the problem if you are driving in Buffalo. People are dying in cars. That's the reality of it," he said. 

"And it is heartbreaking that people are driving," the mayor added, lamenting that some people were "out sightseeing". 

Buffalo residents were also ordered to stay home and comply with travel restrictions for their own safety. 

"Stay home and adhere to local travel bans that are in place,” said New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray. “This is for your own safety, and to facilitate operations of utility crews, plow trucks and emergency responders. Our State agency teams have been working hand in glove with each other and our local partners to help New Yorkers get through this historic storm." 

Governor Hochul Saturday blamed climate change for her decision to deploy the National Guard.

"Last night I've had to bring in the National Guard. . . . It's very clear to me that the effects of climate change are wreaking havoc everywhere from the streets of Queens with flooding, all the way up to the City of Buffalo,” she said at a press conference.

In another press conference Monday, Hochul again blamed climate change and said the government is preparing for the “next big one”. 

“Historic storms are no longer historic to us,” said Hochul. “That’s become a way of life in our state and that’s a result of climate change.”  

“All of us, in state and county-level government, know we have to prepare for the next big one,” she added.