Updated April 19, 2022 at 4:19 p.m.
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BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) — Broome County is in a State of Emergency, as an April storm has dropped over a foot of snow and left thousands without power.
County officials lifted a ban on all non-essential travel Tuesday afternoon. They still urge residents to limit unnecessary travel and use caution when out.
American Red Cross shelters for those affected by storm-related outages will open at 5 p.m. Beds and services will be available at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Binghamton and at the Deposit Fire Station.
County Executive Jason Garnar said roughly half of all Broome County residents were experiencing power outages as of Tuesday morning. More than 42,000 NYSEG customers were without power across Broome County as of 4 p.m.
An additional 57,000 customers throughout NYSEG’s service area are experiencing outages, including 15,000 in Chenango County.
There is a widespread power and telephone outage in the Village of Deposit in Broome and Delaware counties. In a statement on social media, Garnar said if someone has an emergency and is unable to call 911, they should go in person to the Deposit Fire Station.
Deposit residents are asked to conserve and boil water if needed. A curfew is in place from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. It’s unclear when power will be restored.
“It's not going to be fixed and resolved today. This is going to take a long time,” Garnar continued. “This is a multi-day response type of an event that we're looking at.”
The snow Broome County received was significantly heavy, the county executive explained, which caused more trees to fall than any other time in recent memory.
The county has sent out crews with chainsaws to remove the trees from roads so that NYSEG workers can safely travel and restore power.
In an interview Tuesday morning on WNBF, Governor Kathy Hochul said she will travel to Broome County to assess the situation and assist.
"We're prepared for this, but the fact it's going to be warming up is also very positive,” Hochul said Tuesday.
911 operators in Broome County received more than 1,700 calls Tuesday morning. No significant injuries were reported, county officials said.
All schools in the county remain closed. The Broome County Public Library, senior centers, Meals on Wheels and county parks are closed as well.
The National Weather Service in Binghamton has received reports of downed trees and power lines. Windy conditions could worsen the situation.
A wind advisory is in effect until 9 p.m.
The two-day total snowfall at the Binghamton Airport reached over 14 inches, which broke the two-day April record for the area, set in 2007. It's also the most snow that has fallen on April 19 for Binghamton, breaking a record set in 1983, as well as the latest date for a one-day snowfall for the area on record.
Check for more weather updates.
This story will be updated throughout the day.