WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. March 15, 2010 (EDITED) : In the aftermath of this weekend’s devastating rain and wind storm, County Executive Robert P. Astorino today met with Gov. Paterson, FEMA representatives and Con Edison officials, as the county’s Department of Emergency Services began efforts to qualify the county for federal disaster aid.

At a meeting earlier in the day at the county’s Emergency Operations Center in Hawthorne, Astorino briefed Paterson on the damage. The two executives also heard directly from Con Edison on its ongoing efforts to restore power throughout the county. Others present were representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the state police, the county’s police and department of Emergency Services and the state Department of Transportation.   

If Westchester is declared a disaster area by President Obama, it could bring grants and low-interest loans to businesses and residents. This last happened for Westchester in 2007, when torrential rains flooded parts of the county.

Local governments will be gathering information on storm-related damage and turning these reports  over to the county. The state Superintendent of Insurance has a special hotline for storm-related claims: 1-800-342-3736.  Those impacted by the storm are advised to take photos of their damage and hold on to receipts that document damage.

To obtain federal assistance for municipal infrastructure damage, the threshold is $2.9 million in losses.  The state as a whole must document $25 million in losses. The information is forwarded by the state to FEMA and then to the president.

“Con Ed told us that in Westchester and New York City 173,000 customers were without power at some point – more than the number affected by Hurricane Gloria in 1985,” Astorino said.

The main cause was not the rain, but the winds that ripped trees from the ground, smashing electric wires.

Astorino reminded residents to stay away from downed wires and to notify their local police departments of any  wires.  People without electric power should make sure they notify Con Ed

directly by calling 1-800-75-CONED; those with access to power may make a report via the company’s Web  site: www.coned.com. (People should not assume that the utility knows of their outage.)

People without power in the NYSEG area (parts of northern Westchester) should call 1-800-572-1131.

For non-emergency matters, residents can call United Way’s 2-1-1 line for help. This helpline will have information about dry ice locations, road closures and any warming centers that may have been set up by local communities.  Hours of operations are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. If you have trouble accessing 2-1-1, you may call 1-800-899-1479.