NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday declared a State of Emergency for New York City as well as Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, and Rockland counties in order to provide local governments with additional clean-up and operational support in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias.
"We're taking an all-hands-on-deck approach and activating every resource at our disposal to expedite communities' recovery from the impacts of Tropical Storm Isaias," Cuomo said. "The State is working closely with local governments to help ensure they have the help they need to get back on their feet. We're far too familiar with severe weather, but New Yorkers show their true spirit in times of crisis and we'll prove it once more."
By declaring a state of emergency, the state can provide direct support to local governments without already having standing agreements in place. All other state agencies with emergency response capabilities remain fully engaged with local governments across the state to ensure they have all the resources they need to complete clean-up and recovery operations.
Cuomo also announced that he has directed the New York National Guard to mobilize 50 soldiers with vehicles to assist Putnam County officials with storm response, cleanup missions, and ice and water distribution.
Earlier, the governor announced an investigation into the operations of utility companies, before, during, and after the storm.
Currently, there are 703,191 New Yorkers without power.
The state continues to work around the clock with senior executives at the utilities to ensure restoration moves as quickly and safely as possible. Utilities have deployed 7,000 workers to help with damage response and restoration and service.
Electric outages by company are as follows:
CHGE
64,863
CONED
180,274
NGRID
651
NYSEG
78,103
ORU
68,614
PSEG-LI
310,670
RGE
16
Current power outage numbers by county are as follows:
Albany
240
Bronx
23,989
Columbia
1,083
Delaware
140
Dutchess
43,710
Erie
412
Kings
4,152
Monroe
270
Nassau
135,720
Orange
44,757
Putnam
36,266
Queens
49,981
Rensselaer
230
Richmond
17,631
Rockland
41,395
Suffolk
169,416
Sullivan
7,815
Ulster
8,046
Warren
169
Westchester
117,636