Letter to the Hon. Pete Gaynor, Acting Admin. of the Federal Emergency Management Agency - Schumer, Gillibrand urge FEMA to stand ready to quickly approve potential disaster declaration for Western New York communities ravaged by windstorm, flooding and severe weather

Letter

Dear Acting Secretary:

We write in strong support of communities across upstate New York affected by recent severe weather. We urge the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to stand ready, is requested, to work with affected counties and New York State to determine whether damage meets the statutory threshold for FEMA disaster assistance, and if it does, to make assistance available as expeditiously as possible.

On October 31, 2019, New York was hit by record-breaking rain across upstate New York which caused widespread flooding and high winds into November 1. Oneida and Herkimer counties issued a state of emergency on October 31 due to the heavy rain and flooding. On the morning of November 1, the National Weather Service issued high wind warnings, with gusts up to 65 miles per hour, as well as flood warnings and flash flood warnings for 27 counties in upstate New York. These warnings, with some counties receiving multiple included: Albany, Broome, Chenango, Clinton, Cortland, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Montgomery, Northern Cayuga, Oneida, Oswego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, St. Lawrence, Tioga, Warren, Washington, and Wayne Counties. Thursday's rainfall shattered records across Upstate New York. Syracuse received 1.84 inches, a full inch higher than the previous record for October 31, Watertown received 1.85 inches, Buffalo 1.43 inches, and Rochester 1.09 inches, all setting records for the date. The storm battered the Buffalo North Breakwater so severely that it experienced a partial failure. This is a critical shield to Buffalo's waterfront and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is estimating the cost of addressing this damage could exceed $15 million. According to news outlets, at least two cars have been swallowed in a sinkhole, at least 11 trees have fallen onto homes and over 230,000 people were without power this morning, all of which has come to light in the few hours since this storm ravaged New York and we fear that more damage remains undiscovered or unannounced. As communities across upstate New York continue their recovery from this unexpected and record-setting storm, we urge FEMA to stand ready to participate in a Preliminary Damage Assessment with state and local officials, should the state request it.

We are grateful for the prompt attention that the federal government has historically give in responding to disaster impacting New York State. In that spirit, we strongly urge you to approve any forthcoming requests for FEMA assistance from New York State as affected communities begin their recovery from these storms.

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