STONY POINT, New York (WABC) — New York State officials visited some of the hardest hit areas of Rockland County on Thursday, to make sure residents know how to get the help they need following the dramatic flooding from the weekend.
Shane O’Flaherty still hasn’t moved his truck; the one mother nature threated to move for him on Sunday until he tied it to a tree. O’Flaherty is among the residents in Stony Point whose property flooded and who has been denied claims by their insurance companies.
“We called, we tried,” he said. “If the house burned down, it would’ve been alright, if I left washing machine on for too long, it would’ve been fine, but not with a flood.”
On Thursday, representatives from the State Department of Financial Services were in Stony Point to answer residents’ insurance-related questions and to direct them how to file claims with the National Flood Insurance Program.
Nearly two dozen residents had to be evacuated from their homes after the Cedar Brook Stream became a raging river, damaging roads and flooding neighborhoods including mobile home parks.
Resident Pam Campos came with photos of the damage to her home.
“We don’t know if our houses are structurally sound because of the swift-moving water that was underneath, we need someone to look at it, our air conditioners need to be looked at because they were submerged under water,” Campos said.
All week, officials in Rockland and Orange counties have been assessing damage and tallying up amounts needed to qualify for FEMA disaster relief.
In the meantime, crews have been working to make repairs. With the threat of rain and more flooding looming, residents are on edge.
Representatives from the Department of Financial Services will be in Rockland County until 8 p.m. on Thursday, and then will be in Highland Falls, Orange County on Friday starting at noon.
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