ALBANY, N.Y. — Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a State of Emergency in 11 counties, including Erie and Chautauqua counties due to the heavy rains and high winds Thursday night and early Friday morning.
More than 241,000 thousand people across the state are without power, including more than 50,000 in WNY.
Several roads in WNY remain closed while crews clean up debris and power crews restore power.
Two hundred members of the National Guard are being deployed to help municipalities with clean-up efforts.
"Overnight a severe storm hit the state, bringing with it high wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour and heavy rain that caused flash flooding and widespread power outages," Governor Cuomo said in a released statement. "This morning we did a swift water rescue in Herkimer County where a home was in danger of being swept away, taking five people out of the home including an infant. I am deploying 200 members of the National Guard to impacted areas to assist with response operations. These situations can be a matter of life and death, and I am urging all New Yorkers to exercise extreme caution and only travel if necessary."