FEMA inspects Ida damage in Port Chester, encourages victims to seek aid

As the Hudson Valley continues to recover from Ida, officials from FEMA were in Port Chester Monday to assess damage done to private properties and report it back to the federal government.

The agency has been on the ground since last Wednesday's storm.

Last Wednesday night, about 8 feet of water rushed into furnished basements and garages in a matter of minutes, destroying the areas and resident's belongings.

Glen Avenue is still closed off after floodwaters raised blacktop and saturated sinkholes.

FEMA did an external preliminary survey of the area and Mayor Luis Marino said local officials are laying out a plan to provide relief.

"With the fees and applications to fix the homes, it's going to be immediately. Tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to pass a law where I'm not going to charge anything to the neighbors because they don't deserve it and we will not ask for any income for this matter," Marino said.

Unless you have flood insurance on your homeowners or renters insurance, any property loss due to flooding will likely not be covered. Now that New York is covered under the federal Major Disaster Declaration, up to $5 million in funds will be available to reimburse for damage.

Westchester County has opened a disaster recovery center at the County Center in White Plains where people may apply for financial aid for losses and damages caused by the storm.

Meantime, Marino said FEMA is expected to be back in a matter of days to do an internal survey, so residents need to prepare photos of how their house looked prior to the damage.

FEMA strongly advises that people register in advance before visiting the disaster center. Residents can apply for FEMA aid without coming to the County Center.

The first step is to register either by calling FEMA's registration number 1-800-621-3362; or logging into www.disasterassistance.gov (link is external). For those with speech or hearing disabilities, use the TTY number at 800-462-7585.