WASHINGTON: U.S. President Joe Biden authorized federal support for New York state on Monday after a severe winter storm left at least 27 people dead in the Buffalo area and tens of thousands of residents without power, the White House said in a statement and quoted by Reuters.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has especially been authorized to coordinate efforts in the greater Buffalo metro area, according to D.W.Com.

Biden spoke with Governor Kathy Hochul late on Monday night to offer “the full force of the federal government” to support emergency efforts in the state.

“My heart is with those who lost loved ones this holiday weekend. You are in my and Jill’s prayers,” Biden tweeted earlier in the day.

More than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of snow fell on western New York state in what Governor Hochul has called “an epic, once-in-a-lifetime” catastrophe.

Hundreds of National Guard troops were deployed to assist emergency personnel on Monday. However, roads remain littered with cars and even plows burred under snow, complicating rescue efforts.

Hochul said the wild weather go down in history as “the Blizzard of ’22” and added that it is “way too early to say this is at its completion.”

Local officials ranked it as the worst Buffalo-area snowstorm since a 1977 blizzard that killed nearly 30 people.

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