Assessing the damage

Monroe: Town and three villages 'fared better than most’ MONROE — Like many officials, Town of Monroe Supervisor Sandy Leonard was grateful that the town and its three villages didn’t suffer the massive devastation seen in other parts of the state and East Coast. “We have fared in Monroe and the three villages (Monroe, Harriman and Kiryas Joel) better than most in the county,” she said on Tuesday. “We owe a debt of gratitude to our emergency services personnel. They handled every situation.” Initial flooding along Route 17M turned the ponds in the Village of Monroe into almost a temporary mini-ocean, with the waterfall area rivaling Niagara Falls in its intensity. Down the road in the Village of Harriman, a sea of water covered Bayos Pub, providing no differentiation to where the parking lot and road intersections were. The former Monroe Ford parking lot was filled with at least three feet of water, leaving hundreds, if not thousands of different shaped boulders from a mud slide from across Route 17M as keepsakes. And then there were basements floods of different magnitudes in many homes. “Their main focus should be to document everything that was lost for FEMA,” said Leonard. “Our advice to people is to call their insurance company and if they tell you that you’re not covered, get it and writing and fill out the FEMA forms. We are concerned about the individuals in our town and villages who have lost things.” As of Tuesday, West Mombasha Road was the only town road closed past Water Works Road, according to Leonard, and that was primarily because there was no access to Tuxedo. But she expected the road to be re-opened in the next few days. Woodbury: County Route 106 closed indefinitely Highland Mills — Town of Woodbury Supervisor John Burke says the town and Village of Woodbury have a good handle on getting rid of the mess left by Irene after the storm passed through. “We’re cleaning up and we got a pretty good hit,” said Burke, who like many officials, has had little sleep this past week. One major hit taken by the town is County Route 105, which is often used as a cut through for motorists looking to bypass Route 32 traffic. “Route 105 will be closed for a long time,” said Burke. “There are massive washouts from the banks of the creek. It will require major construction (to repair). There’s a lot of mud damage.” On Tuesday, town officials demolished a vacant home along Route 105 which was heavily damaged from the flood water. The force of the water took the home off its foundation, rendering it inhabitable even though no one currently lived there. County Route 44 also sustained significant damage along many of its shoulders, added Burke, along with two private home bridges which were washed out. “We were well-prepared, there’s no doubt in my mind,” said Burke. “All of our employees were exceptionally well-prepared. We knew what we had to do. I must commend our police, volunteer fire department, volunteer ambulance corps and all our employees. Everyone helped; everyone chipped in.”