(Brookfield, NY – July 3, 2013) Brookfield Town Supervisor John Salka declared a state of emergency on Monday July 1 due to heavy rains that pounded the area and caused widespread damage. The heaviest damage was on the North side of the town, although there appears to be roads, culverts, and streambeds all over the town that were affected. Streams swelled to many times their normal size as the rains that have plagued the area for most of the month of June caused a situation that was unprecedented and beyond the capacity of many areas to absorb any more water in an already saturated earth.
“It was obvious by 5 p.m. that day that the rains were not going to let up, and we were going to really get hit. It was prudent for public safety to declare an emergency.”
“The devastation to the roads was town wide, and in North Brookfield there were many that sustained heavy damage. Throughout the town it may take months to repair the damage and it has been decided that most scheduled road work this summer will just have to wait for now.”
While he was touring the storm’s damage in Oneida with Senator Charles Schumer Salka had the opportunity to speak to the Senator and his aides about Brookfield, and asked him to please make sure Brookfield is in the running for assistance that the county was now eligible for.
Madison County has easily reached the threshold for Federal disaster relief and the southern towns of Brookfield and DeRuyter sustained some of the heaviest damage south of route 20. The Senator assured Salka that the town will receive funds as soon as the President declares Upstate counties disaster areas and paperwork is received and processed. Salka did say that some roads in the town may be closed for quite some time while FEMA comes in to assess the damage and make recommendations on proper repairs.
As of Wednesday the Town still was in a state of emergency due to the possibility of more heavy rains.