Hudson Valley Gets Federal Funds For Emergency Management

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — More than $7.4 million in federal funding is available to county emergency management agencies in New York to support planning and operational readiness for any type of disaster.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday the funding to counties around the state, including the Hudson Valley, from the federal Emergency Management Performance Grant.

She said the funding was critically important to communities throughout the state as recovery continues from storm-related damages experienced over recent months.

"As we are forced to deal with the devastating effects of climate change more regularly, I am confident that our local emergency management agencies will put this money to good use in preparing for future disasters," Hochul said in a prepared statement.

Award amounts available to local emergency management agencies in the Hudson Valley are:

• Columbia County: $28,034
• Dutchess County: $113,604
• Orange County: $141,102
• Putnam County: $41,401
• Rockland County: $118,787
• Sullivan County: $33,310
• Ulster County: $71,622
• Westchester County: $351,492

To access the funding, local awardees must develop projects or initiatives that strengthen their own readiness and response capabilities to address all potential hazards. Projects should also focus on addressing any efforts identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as needing national improvement.

That includes logistics and distribution management planning, evacuation planning, disaster financial management, catastrophic disaster housing and resilient communications.

Funding can be used to support management and administrative activities, planning, staffing for emergency management agencies, equipment, training and exercises, construction and renovation of emergency operations centers and maintenance and sustainment of GIS and interoperable communications systems.

The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services will administer this funding on behalf of FEMA. The division will be in contact with each jurisdiction's emergency management office directly to make sure that these funds are made available as quickly as possible.