3 New York Counties Declare Emergency Ahead of Solar Eclipse

The expected surge of visitors for the historic event on April 8 has prompted declarations in several states and counties in ’the path of totality.’

A graphic visualization with no text of the path of totality and partial contours crossing the U.S. for the 2024 total solar eclipse occurring on April 8, 2024. NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Three New York counties located along Lake Ontario—Oswego, Jefferson, and Wayne—declared or will declare a state of emergency due to the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8.

This comes as other U.S. counties and states have done the same.

“Oswego County is situated in the ‘path of totality’ for this rare event, which means that the eclipse will be viewable in every corner of our county,” said Oswego County Legislature Chairman James Weatherup in a statement on April 2, according to a statement issued by the county.

“Our population is expected to temporarily double in size with visitors coming from around the world to experience it with us. While this is an exciting occasion, we also want to make sure that our residents and visitors are all able to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime event safely and with as little disruption as possible.”

The chairman said he will close down most county buildings and facilities except for essential operations, including the waste transfer station, the local department of motor vehicles office, and others.

“The Emergency Order and coordinated closures are strictly precautionary safety measures related to the high traffic volumes we’re anticipating and possible communications disruptions we may experience due to a large number of data users overwhelming the capacity of nearby cellular towers,” he added, saying that “these conditions would only be temporary.

‘Don’t Rush Out to the Stores’

“There is no need to panic or hoard supplies, so don’t rush out to the stores and clear out their shelves.”

Officials in New York’s Jefferson County also said they would soon declare an emergency.

“This is nothing negative about the eclipse, rather it becomes a useful tool for the county to secure necessary resources in short order if called to respond to any emergency that could arise at the height of our dramatically expanding tourism population Monday,” county administrator Robert Hagemann told a local news outlet on April 2.

This past week, Wayne County in New York similarly declared a state of emergency.

In the state of Indiana, Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb issued a declaration impacting the entire state as the eclipse’s path of totality is anticipated to pass over its largest city and capital, Indianapolis.

“The massive number of people viewing this event in our state may well stress and/or interfere with first responder and public safety communications and emergency response systems such that a technological or other emergency may occur,” Mr. Holcomb said in a declaration, adding that the declaration was issued as a precaution to bring in emergency resources from other states.

Ohio’s Summit County has advised residents to “stay home” due to expected traffic congestion, and the Illinois Department of Transportation has warned that crowd sizes and traffic could be massive in some areas.

In Texas, several counties have issued disaster declarations or declared states of emergency.

Kaufman County Judge Jakie Allen issued a disaster declaration due to the “projected and expected number of visitors” in the area. Some 200,000 people may visit the county to view the eclipse, county officials said.

“The dramatic increase in population, even for a short time, will greatly impact our public safety agencies, taxing their ability to respond to calls,” Kaufman officials said.

A state of emergency due to expected crowds was declared in the Canadian Niagara Falls region, adjacent to the city of Niagara Falls in New York State.

The city is also in the path of totality, which will receive no solar rays for a few minutes on April 8 as the moon blocks the sun. Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said in March that he expects the most visitors his city has ever seen in a single day.

New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul warned travelers to expect high traffic as several eclipse-viewing events will be held. She said lane closures and construction will be halted ahead of the astronomical event.