RENSSELAER, N.Y. -- "I have never seen a storm like this before. Not even just in my tenure, but in all the years I've lived in Rensselaer County, I've never seen a storm like this hit. It was an extraordinary event," said Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino.
But now, it's up to SEMO and FEMA to put a price tag on the extent of the damage. About 10 state and federal assistance workers were at the scene of the flooding Wednesday, adding up the cost of how badly the city and the county were hit.
Jimino said, "We had to have a number beyond $23.5 million in damages in order for the team to come in. We exceeded that number and as estimates continue to come in and be refined, that number continues to grow."
Federal and state assistance agencies FEMA and SEMO were in Rensselaer to assess the damage caused by last week's flooding. City and county officials are hoping they qualify for the aid. Our Kaitlyn Ross reports.
According to the county, they've well surpassed $23.5 million. They've assessed the damage at $31 million. Now it's up to SEMO and FEMA to see if those numbers match up and there's enough damage in Rensselaer to qualify for state and federal funding.
It's huge," said Jimino. "The municipalities affected were affected to such a great degree in terms of the financial impact that we really need state and federal assistance. So hopefully these teams will see that damage and write up their reports, pass that information along such that we can get some assistance from the state or the federal government to begin repairing all of the damage that was done by last week's storm."
Initially, the county thought it would have to join other counties in the state to qualify for the assistance, but Jimino said as the assessments keep coming in, the cost of the damage is just getting worse.
Jimino said, "This is not a level of damage that we can expect local taxpayers alone to bear the brunt of."
State and federal assistance is only for public property. That means homeowners are on their own.