Statement: Storm Damage

News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 5, 2020

Statement from County Executive Ed Day

Rockland County has once again been a victim of severe weather with an unexpected turn of Tropical Storm Isaias bringing damaging wind instead of the heavy rain which was forecast. The damage done in the hours when Isaias moved through our area is devastating and is second in my mind only to what we suffered during Superstorm Sandy. At one point almost half of Rockland residents were without power and while some people have been restored today not nearly enough progress has been made.

After taking part in a conference call with Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R) today it is clear that we all must prepare for the worst. Isaias did major damage to O&R’s transmission infrastructure and as you all have seen there is wide-spread damage in our County. O&R made clear on the call that this will be a multi-day event and it is possible that residents will be without power here for as much as a week.

Right now, our Office of Fire and Emergency Services is checking the status of power at adult care facilities and making sure that O&R is aware of these outages and prioritizing them. Elderly residents are the most at risk due to the heat and we must do everything possible to make sure they are taken care of.

The County, Towns and Villages have already accomplished much; clearing downed trees and reopening roads but we cannot proceed any further unless we are working in concert with O&R technicians. We all stand ready to assist but their level of staffing was inadequate to deal with the effects of this storm. O&R needs to step up their game immediately.

Rockland has provided nearly 20 generators to local municipalities to power traffic lights and will continue to assist as we are able. We have compiled a list of cooling centers, operated by Rockland’s Towns, which is available below. The list will be updated as conditions change.

Town of Clarkstown Town Hall
10 Maple Ave, New City
M-F 9 am – 5 pm

Street Community Center
31 Zukor Rd, New City
11 am – 10 pm

Pascack Community Center
87 New Clarkstown Rd, Nanuet
10 am – 6 pm

Congers Community Center
8 Gilchrest Rd, Congers
10 am – 9 pm

Town of Haverstraw Town Hall
1 Rosman Rd, Garnerville
M-F 9 am – 5 pm

Town of Orangetown Town Hall
26 Orangeburg Rd, Orangeburg
M-F 9 am – 9 pm

On weekends contact Police Dept.

Town of Ramapo Town Hall
237 NY-59, Suffern
M-F 9 am – 5 pm

If emergency contact Police Dept.

RHO Building
5 Club House Lane, Stony Point
CLOSED – No Power

author avatar
Joan Will

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