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FEMA Inspectors Arrive In Suffolk To Assess Damage From Historic Rainfall, Flooding

ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Federal emergency investigators arrived on Long Island Wednesday to assess flood damage from last week's historic rain storm and determine financial assistance.

As WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs reported, federal investigators from FEMA began assessing flood damage in Suffolk County.

FEMA Inspectors Arrive In Suffolk To Assess Damage From Historic Rainfall, Flooding

Ultimately they'll decide if towns that were hit hard by flood water should be declared disaster areas, making them eligible for federal aid.

In Islip, the damage is estimated at about $20 million so far, Xirinachs reported.

"It's very important for us to be able to find a definite number so that we can provide that to FEMA, so that we can get reimbursement and so that we can provide some funds for some of these families," said Councilwoman Trish Bergen.

The rainstorm that slammed Suffolk on Aug. 13 dropped 13.5 inches of rain in some areas, setting a new state record for the most amount of rainfall over a 24-hour period.

The FEMA investigators will be in Suffolk County all week focusing most of their time in Bayblon, Brookhaven and Islip.

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