For victims, ‘disaster centers are the place to go’

Help is available for victims of Halloween night flooding by calling 211 or by going to a disaster assistance center, said RoAnn Destito, New York State Office of General Services commissioner.

"If you want to have a face-to-face discussion, the disaster centers are the place to go," she said while speaking to media Friday at one of the state's assistance center at the Whitesboro Fire Department.

The nine centers set up by the state are located in the 13 counties in which Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency. But flooding victims from neighboring counties may visit them, too, Destito said.

The emergency declaration allows residents of contiguous counties to apply for help, too.

At the Whitesboro center, representatives of a number of agencies and programs sat at tables waiting to talk to flood victims. One of the tables held a big box full of rubber gloves.

The centers bring state, county and nonprofit agencies together to assist residents on issues such as insurance claims, housing and cleanup. They will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. But then officials will assess the need to determine what the hours will be going forward, officials said.

The emphasis is on helping people for now, Destito said.

"There's been too many storms and the governor agrees, we need to do recovery. ... And then we need to do the future," she said.

By that she means work on prevention and resiliency to make sure infrastructure doesn't get overwhelmed by flowing waters in the future, Destito said.

Mitigation work on the Sauquoit Creek at Dunham Manor did help, and next year more mitigation work will begin by the CSX bridge, she said.

But more will have to be done, Destito said.

"We need a comprehensive plan because we need to go up to Chadwicks," she said. "We need to go to Clayville."

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