A team called Samaritan’s Purse is here to help with clean up of people’s basements. Call 845 304 4207 to get on the list for their teams to come out to you.
Basement Cleanup
News
FOOD DISTRIBUTION – SATURDAY JULY 15, 2023
Via Trustee Melanie Guerrero – 9:00am
Sacred Heart will not have food distribution after 4 pm today and will resume food distribution activities on Monday. The shelter, however, will remain open to anyone 24/7.
Food distribution over the weekend will be at Grace Baptist Church instead. They will be open starting at 3 pm and closed at 8pm today. Sunday they will be open for food distribution from 1 pm to 6pm.
FLOOD DAMAGE UPDATES
Source: Highland Falls, NY Official site
- 9W going north is now open. It is only one lane, so expect delays. 9W going south is open except for the overpass to get to the hill. That stretch is anticipated to open Monday, if not sooner. DPW is working on updating the signs on 9W.
- Access to the Highland Falls Sewer Plant and Water Plant have been established as of yesterday but not the Ft. Montgomery Sewer Plant.
- There is still heavy flow of water at the Kleitz/Drew Avenue headwall and the road remains closed.
- A two-day water test on water from the Water plant is being conducted. The first sample passed.
- Water testing kits for homeowners to test water from their tap and wells (for those who have wells) are available at American Legion from 10 to 3:30 today. The water has to be returned to American legion within 24 hours of collection. Depending on the demand they will have more available.
- The wooden bridge behind Town Hall has been inspected and it is anticipated to open today to allow cars that are trapped in the municipal parking lot to get out/towed out.
- We urge residents/homeowners to fill out this google form online:
It only takes five minutes or less to complete.
It is important to complete because of these reasons:
a). Orange County will use the list of people who have submitted that form to send teams to help them clean up their homes (to include mold remediation) AT NO COST to them. It is important to get on that list.
b) FEMA uses data gathered from that form to determine individual homeowner damages. We have to meet a certain monetary threshold to get funding from FEMA.
Finally, Tomorrow, Friday, July 14 from 12-8pm at the Sacred Heart the NY Department of Financial Services staff will be there to provide insurance assistance to residents affected by the flooding.
DFS will answer any insurance-related questions and direct homeowners and small businesses on how to file a claim through the National Flood Insurance Program.
If you can’t attend, call the Department of Financial Services Disaster Hotline at (800) 339-1759 For Insurance-Related Questions or visit the DFS Disaster and Flood Recovery Resource Center
Free Bacteria Testing for Private Wells Affected by Recent Highlands Flooding Offered by OCDOH
Do you have a private well that was subject to the flooding from the recent storm event in the Highlands / Ft. Montgomery area?
If so, the OCDOH will be distributing a 2nd round of sample bottles for free bacteria testing of your private well water.
This free water test only applies to private wells that were subject to flooding during the storm. If you pay a water bill, or if you are on municipal water, your municipality is performing its own sampling to ensure public safety.
If you are concerned about the quality of your drinking water, our office strongly suggests you follow Boil Water guidelines while you await results.
For more information about drinking the water, cooking, brushing your teeth, etc. see FAQ here: https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/water/drinking/boilwater/faq_residents_and_homeowners.htm (https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/water/drinking/boilwater/faq_residents_and_homeowners.htm), or call Environmental Health at the number below.
To get this free water sampling:
Location:
American Legion Hall
134 Old State Road
Highland Falls, NY 10928
Date:Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Time (Pick up): 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Residents will have until 3:00 pm to return the filled bottles to the American Legion Hall for testing.
We would expect to get word out to residents of these results within about a week of testing.
For more information, call Environmental Health at 845-291-2331.
Steven Gagnon, M.P.H., P.E.
Principal Public Health Engineer
Incident Commander Report 7/14/23
This is a summary of the daily Incident Commander meeting at Senior Center:
1. We anticipate a lot of rain coming this weekend. We urge residents living in high risk areas: Mearns Avenue, Drew Avenue, Kleitz, Mountain Avenue, Weyant Terrace, Oak Avenue, Weyant Green to find shelter in other homes until the weather clears.
Shelters have been established at Sacred Heart and Holy Trinity as alternatives. A request for all terrain vehicles, utility vehicles, mutual aid assets and other emergency road assistance from neighboring communities (West Point/Monroe/Tuxedo/Port Jarvis) has been sought in anticipation of further flooding the next two days.
2. Last night’s rain caused damage to roads and areas we have started rebuilding, in particular Drew Avenue, Station Hill Rd, Weyant Terrace, and now Haven’s Road. Two people from HF marina had to be rescued via boat by the West Point emergency response team under mutual aid agreement.
3. The Boil Water Advisory has been lifted.
4. All six bridges in Highland Falls have been inspected for safety. They are drivable.
5. VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters) and Team Rubicon have plans to go through the list of homes that need help with clean up as early as tomorrow. To get on this list you have to have submitted the Orange County Resident Damage Form online:
6. Mental health professionals are at Sacred Heart Shelter and is available to anyone. An appointment is not needed.
7. The Intermediate School has a daily program open from 9am-12 noon Tuesdays through Friday as a safe place for children to go. No appointment is needed.
8. There is a need for more sandbags. We are trying to get a sandbag machine to make them available to residents. They will be located at the Town DPW garage on Mearns Avenue/9W, call Tiffany Montellese at 845-446-3800 extension 2 for availability.
9. We are still working on damage and cost assessments to present to FEMA. So far we have not gotten funding. The first FEMA assessors are scheduled to arrive
on Tuesday next week
10. All activities at the Sacred heart shelter, Holy Trinity, and American Legion are advertised on the Facebook Page: Town of Highlands Disaster Relief.