New Yorkers reeling from severe weather and flash flooding are finally hearing two very important words out of Washington D.C.: disaster declaration. This paves the way for communities to receive federal assistance.
Counties in the hardest hit areas of the state – Orange, Dutchess, Hamilton and Ontario – now have public assistance available. This weekend's major disaster declaration from the White House will be a game-changer as areas continue to cleanup, recover and rebuild.
As New Yorkers start vacationing, one resort had to put the summer season on pause to clean up.
Nestled in the Adirondacks is Hemlock Hall lakefront resort in Hamilton County. But it's where the sounds of families on vacation have been replaced with construction work.
“So the stream overflowed, went down our driveway here and then down the main part of the road,” said Chelsea Provost, owner of Hemlock Hall.
Two weeks ago, Hemlock Hall was underwater because rain caused a brook that sits on the property to overflow – in the middle of the busy summer season.
“For us, the damage was devastating," said Provost. "We had to evacuate our guests from the property, which was over 50, and we’ve had to cancel out through almost the end of August. So that's just hundreds of thousands of dollars of lost income right there, and then on top of that, the damage to the infrastructure.”
Counties across New York have seen recent flooding from torrential storms.
President Joe Biden approved Gov. Kathy Hochul’s request for a major disaster declaration, which will provide federal funding to many communities impacted by the recent heavy flooding, including Hamilton County.
“So county and town roads were washed out, bridges were lost," Provost said. "Homes were devastated in Long Lake. You know, a couple people left without a place to live.”
Ethan Vandermolen grew up vacationing here and his family has property that also got hit by flooding. The community helped them rebuild, so now, he’s paying it forward.
“We were so fortunate to have so many members of the community help us in our efforts," said Vandermolen, a volunteer. "So the best way to say 'thank you' is to just help every one else that's around us.”
Since Hemlock Hall is privately owned, it's unclear if it will receive funding through the disaster declaration, but Provost said the community has stepped up to help.
“With this property comes 75 years of history. So that's families that have been coming to Hemlock Hall for 75 years. They literally call it their vacation home. So the generosity we’ve received from our guests and the local community trying to preserve Hemlock Hall is just incredible,” Provost said.
Welp, we did it! Not a good record to break, but the storm that moved through around 2:30 dropped almost .5" of rain to give us the record for the month.
— Ryan Finn (@WeatherManFinn) July 24, 2023
Thinking total rainfall will increase with 7 days left in the month and several chances for rain in the forecast #518wx pic.twitter.com/lU8fGuh1NA