NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — U.S Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mayor Bill de Blasio and FEMA officials will survey the damage Monday in parts of Queens that were hit hard by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
As CBS2’s John Dias reported, families are still dealing with the financial and emotional impact of the storm.
The numbers behind Ida’s devastation in New York are coming to light.
Gov. Kathy Hochul estimates 1,200 homes were seriously impacted by the storm, equating to well over $50 million in damage. Officials are now able to apply for federal funding to help with things like temporary housing, home repairs and legal services.
Last week, Mayor de Blasio said the city was reevaluating its evacuation system, which the governor later said is a must.
“I believe there has to be a better warning system for people who are in their homes,” Hochul said Sunday. “There’s a human being living in there, or multiple human beings living in that space, and we need a system that’s going to alert them in, not just in English, but in multiple languages to let people know that they are in danger.”
But that kind of potential warning system came too late for a family in Hollis, Queens.
“Very, very frustrating, I keep trying to… I’m sorry,” said Ragendra Shivpradas, who became overwhelmed with emotion and walked away during an interview with CBS2.
A 43-year-old mother and her 22-year-old son who lived in Shivprades’s basement died. His son said they were killed because fast-moving water flooded their home on 183rd Street.
The entire block became a raging river during last week’s storm.
“They’re like family friends to us. We all live in the same house. It hurts, it really hurts,” said Amit Shivprasad.
Now that the flooding has cleared, homeowners are left with the pain of what happened.
More than a hundred neighbors showed up for a vigil and to express their outrage Sunday. They believe this could’ve been avoided if construction on their street was done correctly years ago.
“They brought in the wrong sewer pipes,” said Al Kanu. “Something is wrong where the city is refusing to accept that the construction engineer that are doing this work, they don’t know what they’re doing.”
Ida’s price tag is far from final. Officials believe it will only go up.
On Tuesday, President Biden is scheduled to tour some of the hardest hit communities in New York City and New Jersey.
from CBS New York https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/09/06/ida-aoc-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-fema-queens-storm-damage/
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