Eastern Southern Tier – Disaster recovery and clean-up continues at the Finger Lakes and Eastern Southern Tier to assist communities after flash flooding struck the area this week, causing extensive damage to roads, homes and other critical infrastructure.
Tuesday’s flash flooding from training thunderstorms triggered rescue operations from local and state first responders and caused widespread damage in many communities in Central New York.
The Office of Fire Prevention and Control’s rescue team has assisted 77 people with evacuations in Seneca County, in addition to performing ten water rescues in the town of Conklin in Broome County.
The State Emergency Operations Center continues to operate at Level 3 status to coordinate any response and recovery efforts to residents in the impacted areas. Regional emergency response teams are activated and are in close contact with community leaders and emergency responders.
The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Department of Transportation, Division of Military and Naval Affairs, Thruway Authority, Department of Environmental Conservation, State Parks, and State Police are all mobilizing resources and personnel for cleanup efforts.000
Cathy Calhoun, the Director of State Operations, has been deployed to Broome and Seneca Counties in Central New York, along with the Mobile Command Center from the Department of Financial Services to assist residents with insurance claims.
The National Guard has also deployed 50 personnel to the region and is staging an additional 150 personnel for deployment to assist local governments with debris removal and cleanup. Damage assessment teams from the State Department of Transportation will evaluate roads, bridges and other infrastructure for damage and safety concerns.
In a statement, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo said he is urging residents to be cautious while traveling through the effected areas.
“We are capitalizing on this break in weather to mobilize recovery and clean-up personnel quickly in order to assess the storm’s impacts, and state agencies will continue to work with local officials to clear debris and assist in recovery efforts until the job is done,” said Cuomo.
Staff members from the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Division of Environmental Remediation, Division of Water, and Operations and Permits are operating out of the city of Binghamton and are assisting with response efforts.
Recoreses from the DOT are available in Binghamton to aid in the cleanup, which include two vacuum trucks with sewer jets, one trailer-mounted sewer jet, and two water tankers. The DOT also has five traffic signal trucks, one tree crew bucket truck, eight chippers, 133 large dump trucks, 33 large loaders, one grader, fivewheeled excavators and 6 track excavators.
The Department of Financial Services Mobile Command Center has been deployed to the Village of Ovid in Seneca County to help to residents affected by flooding.