Warren County is asking property owners to report their damage from last week’s tornadoes and severe thunderstorms as the county Office of Emergency Services works to see if financial aid for individuals is feasible.
An online portal has been established for property owners and residents to easily report the extent of their damage and costs for cleanup and repairs.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday requested that the federal government make an emergency declaration to assist municipalities with costs for cleanup and repairs of roads and public infrastructure from the July 15-16 storms, which affected counties across central and northern New York.
However, that initial declaration would not cover financial assistance for property owners who suffered unreimbursed damage to their homes and private property. But there remains the possibility that the emergency declaration could be expanded to include reimbursement for individuals’ cleanup expenses.
Ann Marie Mason, Warren County Director of Emergency Services, said gathering information about the extent of damage is the first step in determining if New York state will meet a damage threshold for individual assistance to be awarded.
“We know there are a lot of folks who suffered damage that is not being covered by insurance, and we are doing all that we can to document it so that we can show a need for financial aid for individuals,” Mason explained.
The federal Individual Assistance program includes grants and low-interest loans.
Warren County property owners who sustained property damage are asked to go to this website to report the damage: https://arcg.is/0ybK4H0.
A QR code for the reporting website is attached to this press release as well. Information must be submitted by August 9, 2024.
Anyone with questions can call Office of Emergency Services at 518-761-6240.
The request stems from storms on July 16, 2024, when Warren County was hit by at least one tornado, which touched down in the towns of Chester and Warrensburg, as well as 87-mph straight line winds that hit Queensbury and Glens Falls, damaging dozens of homes and knocking out power to nearly 17,000 National Grid customers. Virtually every community in Warren County sustained some level of damage from the storms.
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