Gov. Kathy Hochul is taking the state's storm recovery effort to the White House. She requested a major disaster declaration from President Joe Biden to secure federal assistance for communities impacted by the recent flooding.

The governor's announcement came as some Hudson Valley residents reported frustration with the lack of assistance, despite a visit Friday from a representative from the Department of Financial Services to the hard-hit area of Hudson Falls in Orange County.

Frustration with resources was evident at the Sacred Heart of Jesus School.

Jeff Gathers, the captain of Highland’s ambulance corps, said both the corps’ headquarters and his private residence suffered heavy damage from flooding.

So it was disheartening for him that folks without flood insurance will have to wait for FEMA’s assistance to pay for damages.

On top of that, he said, it was dismaying the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) only sent one representative down to assist people with overcoming the economic challenges.

“There's like 40 people that have questions," Gathers said. "And again, they're frustrated, too. So this is not a knock against them. You can't send one person and expect to get answers right away. We thought FEMA was coming. We were told FEMA was coming. They are not here.”

The frustration was shared by Emma Fuentes, chief of staff for state Senator James Skoufis. She said she was shocked that only one representative from DFS was on hand to speak with the dozens of people inside the shelter.

She said the state needs to do more to reach out to people affected by the flooding, and to let them know how they can apply to get help from FEMA.

“Getting FEMA's assistance is critical, but we can only get FEMA's assistance if they declare a major disaster in this area, and they can only declare a major disaster in this area if folks are reporting their damage to the county and the county and the state can then put all that information together, share it with FEMA. Get us the resources we need," she said.

FEMA assistance can also come when a request for a declaration of a major natural disaster, made by the governor, is accepted by the president.

Reps. Pat Ryan and Mike Lawler both called on Biden to accept Hochul's declaration.

Information about reaching the $36 million FEMA disaster can be found here.