Governor Hochul: “We will do everything we can to get the most money we can” for communities ravaged by vicious weather stretch

ROME- In the wake of a wild stretch of weather across Central and Northern New York, including flash floods and tornado touchdowns, it appears as if local governments have begun moving out of the initial emergency phase and into repairing the damage endured in several local communities.

In terms of the recent tornado destruction in Rome, NY, Governor Kathy Hochul said during her visit Wednesday that she has been in touch with U.S. Senators Gillibrand and Schumer.

In order for FEMA assistance to kick in, there must be a minimal threshold of $37 million in public damage, including roads, bridges, infrastructure, public buildings, libraries, schools, offices and so on, according to the Governor.

That’s how it works in a nutshell. “Once that is calculated, we can put in a request and ask for a declaration of disaster from the federal government,” Hochul clarified.

In Lowville, NY, officials have told us that damages from an intense flooding event are expected to meet that threshold.

During her press conference Wednesday in Rome, NY, Governor Hochul responded to a question regarding FEMA funding, emphasizing the application process and how it would correlate to the damage in the village of Canastota, NY, since it was the same storm system.

“So you would add up the damage in the village there and other damage in Madison County with this and aggregate the two when you do your application,” the Governor explained.

“Would I like to add the damage done in Lewis County last-week and Lowville? We will try, but I don’t know if I can identify that that’s the same weather event, although that it was the same week and these are extreme conditions so we will do everything we can to get the most money we can.”

During the Lewis County Fair on Tuesday, New York State Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush spoke with us and re-emphasized his efforts behind the scenes for Lowville and Lewis County, including being in contact with federal, state and local officials.

The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado that wrecked parts of Rome, NY on Tuesday was a "strong" EF2 and had a maximum wind of 135-mph.

With a recorded touchdown time at 3.25 p.m., its path included 5.25-miles of destruction, with a maximum width of approximately 300-yards.

Image via the office of New York State Senator Joe Griffo.