In April 2007 Westchester was made painfully aware of the devastating effects storms can have on homeowners, businesses and the county at large. The April Nor’easter devasted parts of the Sound Shore of the county. The Long Island coastal areas are not, however, the only sections of the county vulnerable to storms and floods. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd destroyed  major areas of northern Westchester. Flooding is a countywide problem and there must be countywide solutions.

To help find solutions, County Executive Andy Spano hosted a Flood Summit in June of 2007 to bring together officials from all cities, towns and villages to create momentum for change. At the summit, an overview of the major causes of flooding, including a historic perspective of the problem, was presented by officials from the County and both State and Federal agencies. Only by working together will flooding be mitigated.

Spano announced a five-year $10 million per year capital projects budget to help fund local projects and the appointment of a Flood Action Task Force. The Flood Action Task Force, comprised of representatives from County and local government as well as the business community, has developed a fact sheet of the County’s $50 million capital program and a pre-application form for municipalities interested in participating in the program. For more information, contact the Department of Planning at 995-4400.

In 2007, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) completed updating the Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the county. To find out if your property is in a floodplain, go to the county interactive maps. Enter your address and click "Go." Then select "Layers", click the "plus" sign in front of “Environmental Features” and then check the grey check box in front of "Floodplains."

The Powerpoint presentations from the summit, below, require Microsoft Powerpoint or the free Powerpoint Viewer.