Ulster County to Host Flood Disaster Assistance Workshop

KINGSTON, NY – Municipal leaders in Ulster County are invited to participate in a free Flood Disaster Assistance Workshop on Thursday, February 20, with a rain date of Thursday, February 27. Ulster County Departments of Emergency Services and Environment, CCEUC, and the New York State Water Resources Institute will host a half-day workshop.

The workshop aims to equip local officials with the knowledge and resources needed to navigate the flood disaster response and recovery process. Attendees will learn about federal, state, and local assistance available to municipalities and communities following a significant flood event.

Key topics include best practices for post-flood damage assessments, economic triggers for disaster declarations, the implications of a declaration for local communities, and administrative guidance for disaster recovery reimbursement programs.

A dedicated question and answer session will allow participants to directly engage with representatives from agencies involved in disaster relief, including the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, the New York State Department of State, and the Ulster County Department of Emergency Services.

“When a community is prepared for a disaster, chaos turns into coordination and resilience replaces fear,” stated Ulster County Emergency Manager Michael Madison, emphasizing the importance of disaster preparedness. “The best action against any disaster is preparation.” Madison will be a presenter at the workshop, sharing insights from his experience in disaster response and recovery, including the recent Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina.

The workshop is a condensed version of a two-day flood response and recovery training held in October 2023 by CCEUC, funded by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. This initiative is the first in a planned series of trainings focused on stream and floodplain management, and flood response and recovery.

“We’ve been wanting to replicate some of these City funded trainings for the benefit of everyone else in Ulster County for a while now, and I’m excited to launch the first in what we hope is a series of trainings around stream and floodplain management, and flood response and recovery,” said Tim Koch, Stream Education Leader with CCEUC.

The Flood Disaster Assistance Workshop is open to municipal leaders, administrators, stream managers, and emergency managers. Interested individuals can contact Tim Koch at tk545@cornell.edu.