Gov. Hochul visits flood-stricken areas of NY including Canandaigua

The cleanup continues in parts of Ontario County hard hit by Sunday’s flooding.

The amount of rain causing the flash flooding totaling at least 5.5 inches in various areas in and around Canandaigua.

Jared Simpson is the Canandaigua Town Supervisor. He said there were some evacuations, involving apartment buildings operated by Happiness House, which provides services for people with disabilities.

Simpson says several people had to be evacuated and relocated to a local church.

“So they had to get out, and most of them, they grabbed their pets, couple of things that they could carry," said Simpson. And then we had to have town trucks in the fire department there to help evacuate them to dry ground, and with the help of the Canandaigua City School District and a school bus, we were able to then take them over to the church."

A Red Cross shelter was also opened up at the Canandaigua town hall.

States of emergency continue in the region, but Ontario County Administrator Chris DeBolt said that is mainly an administrative designation to give first responders more flexibility in dealing with the situation.

“We're getting questions about are the roads closed, am I not allowed to leave my house, none of that is what the state of emergencies do," noted DeBolt. "So in terms of actual impact to the residents, for the states of emergencies, they can go about the regular duties, they need to follow any first responders that are on the ground in terms of road closures, directions, those kinds of things, but they can go about their daily lives.”

Ontario County Sheriff David Cirencione said that everyone in that area is urged to continue driving with caution since debris may remain and there has been damage to some roadways, especially along the shoulders.

Governor Kathy Hochul visited the Canandaigua area Monday afternoon and talked about visiting a home on Chapin Street, that was particularly hard hit by flooding, and heard from a family who had to be rescued.

“The parents describe what it was like when the first responders arrived at their home, literally picked up their children, carried them out into the water that was almost up to their waist and the fear that they spoke up but the relief on they saw these individuals come there and be able to literally give them a lifeline and take them out of harm's way to safety,” said Hochul.

Hochul came to Canandaigua after a stop earlier in the day downstate, in Orange County downstate, where at least one person died in the flooding and more than 8 inches of rain had fallen.

One of the worst hit places was New York's Hudson Valley, where rescuers found the body of a woman in her 30s whose home was surrounded by water. The force of the flash flooding dislodged boulders, which rammed into the woman’s house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told The Associated Press. Two other people escaped.

“She was trying to get through (the flooding) with her dog,” Neuhaus said, “and she was overwhelmed by tidal wave-type waves.” He said many roads and bridges were washed out.

Gov. Hochul said after seeing the destruction in Orange County she had "no doubt that we will meet the threshold of almost $37 million in statewide damage in order to be eligible for FEMA money." Hochul said when that designation is made, there would also be an allocation for Ontario County once all of the receipts have been generated from the local public officials

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both NY Democrats, pledged to assist the state with pursuing a potential federal disaster designation.