Malloy declares State of Emergency, deploys troops

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH/AP) -- Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has declared a state of emergency and deployed National Guard troops around the state to help with any rescues and other emergencies during a potentially historic winter storm.

Malloy also warned motorists early Friday afternoon that state highways could be subject to closure at any time and urged residents to stay home and off the roads.

The governor says Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating are now projecting that 30 percent of utility customers in the state could lose power during the storm. The utilities have all of their crews on standby and have called in out-of-state workers.

"People need to take this storm seriously. If current predictions are accurate, we will need people to stay off the roads so that emergency personnel and utility crews can get to the places they need to get to, and to make sure that our plows can keep critical roadways clear," Governor Malloy said. "Please stay home once the weather gets bad except in the case of real emergency."

The National Weather Service says the storm could bring up to 2 feet of snow and forecasters are warning of blizzard conditions Friday evening into Saturday.

"People need to take this storm seriously. If current predictions are accurate, we will need people to stay off the roads so that emergency personnel and utility crews can get to the places they need to get to, and to make sure that our plows can keep critical roadways clear," Governor Malloy said. "Please stay home once the weather gets bad except in the case of real emergency."

A Declaration of Emergency provides the Governor with a number of emergency powers, including:

• The ability to modify or suspend any state statute, regulation, or requirement (for example: altering work hours, waiving licensing requirements, etc.)
• The ability to order civil preparedness forces into action
• The ability to designate vehicle and person routes and movements