Power continues to be out for many residents after high winds and rain from Hurricane Isaias took down power lines across the region on Tuesday. Dutchess County Government’s Emergency Operations Center has announced that in addition to their other recovery efforts, they are facilitating dry ice availability, which has been in short supply, in coordination with Central Hudson. Keeping food cold has been challenging with no power.

According to Dutchess County’s press release: “with assistance from Town of East Fishkill Supervisor Nick D'Alessandro and Councilman Anil Beephan, County Executive Marc Molinaro had the County’s Emergency Response and Public Works departments connect Central Hudson with a Kingston area dry ice supplier and secure the vendor’s remaining inventory from Albany. Central Hudson will be distributing the 1,500 pounds of dry ice, along with regular ice and bottled water, this evening (Thursday, August 6, 2020, at the following locations:

Poughkeepsie Home Depot, 3470 North Rd., Poughkeepsie
Newburgh Armory 321 S. William St., Newburgh
East Fishkill Town Hall, 330 Route 376, Hopewell Junction

County Executive Molinaro said, “This storm has left a tremendous amount of damage in its wake and we continue to work together to recover as fast as possible, but complications such as a dry ice shortage only make the process more urgent and stressful. We are working together with our local municipal partners and the area utilities to ensure residents needs are met. This is a great example of the collaborative response effort underway – East Fishkill Supervisor Nick D’Alessandro was able to provide a resource opportunity and the County made the connection with Central Hudson – ensuring solutions to meet critical needs.”

Other Emergency Needs Met By Dutchess County

In addition to today’s effort, Dutchess County has been able to help in other ways, including:

Dutchess County Public Works highway crews have continued to clear roadways of storm debris, in coordination with utility crews, to help facilitate power restoration efforts;
Dutchess County Emergency Response was able to assist the Town of Stanford in providing bottled water to town residents; with Dutchess County Public Works delivering pallets of water, yesterday;
Dutchess County Emergency Response has secured a large supply of bottled water from New York State to ensure availability for residents;
Emergency Response has been coordinating with both Central Hudson and NYSEG to provide temporary power for residents still without power to operate critical medical equipment; and
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office has been performing wellness checks on senior or disabled residents living alone who are still without power.