US monster winter storm: Trump approves emergency declarations in Maryland, Georgia, 8 other states — what does it mean?

AS severe winter weather moves across the US, President Donald Trump announced that he approved Emergency Declarations for Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia.

"We are working closely with FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency], governors, and state emergency management teams to ensure the safety of everybody. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm!," Trump wrote on TRUTH Social as the US continues to reel under crippling snow and heavy rainfall that have hampered travel plans of many.

What does it mean?

A federal emergency declaration paves the way for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist with emergency work to remove debris or take emergency protective measures, such as building repairs, NBC News reported.

The cost of such work is split between localities and the federal government, which pays for 75% of the overall bill.

US winter storm

Cold, snow, sleet and ice have triggered emergency declarations, transit warnings, grounded flights and shaken up energy markets. In all, the storm may cost as much as $24 billion in damages and economic losses, said Chuck Watson of Enki Research, as per Bloomberg.

The NWS Weather Prediction Center said the ongoing major winter storm will expand into the Mid-Atlantic states by Saturday night and then into the Northeast late Sunday.

Heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain will bring considerable impacts to much of the eastern half of the United States.

According to NBC News, around 190 million people — more than half the US — are under winter weather alerts across 37 states, from the Rockies to New England.

Dangerous cold is gripping much ofthe centrall and eastern US, with wind chills as low as the minus 20s and minus 30s and temperatures 10-40 degrees below average.

New Jersey Transit will temporarily suspend bus, light rail and Access Link service for the entire service day on Sunday, Jan. 25. Trains will operate until 2 p.m. on Sunday.

“It’s a good weekend to stay indoors if you need to make a last run to the grocery store or Home Depot. Get it done now. Get this done today,” New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said at a press conference Saturday. “Anything you need go out today and grab it and plan to stay off the roads tomorrow.”

The massive US winter storm stretching from the southern Rocky Mountains to New England is also straining power systems, causing cascading travel disruptions, while threatening large amounts of snow and ice in some of the country's most densely populated corridors.

Flights cancelled

So far, nearly 13,000 US flights have been cancelled from Saturday through Monday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

According to Bloomberg, it’s the worst level of air travel disruption since the US government shutdown last year, which led to air traffic control staffing shortages at airports across the country that snarled flights.

For some airlines, the disruptions expected Sunday are approaching levels not seen since the coronavirus pandemic decimated air travel, aviation analytics company Cirium was quoted as saying.

As of 9:30 am New York time, 90% of flights from Memphis, 76% from Oklahoma City and 75% from Dallas-Fort Worth were cancelled on Saturday.

Airports in Austin, Charlotte and Nashville were also hit hard, with the Washington and New York areas seeing more disruptions as the storm progresses into Sunday.