The U.S. Department of Agriculture is calling the flooding along Lake Ontario’s shoreline in 2019 a natural disaster.
The Secretary of the USDA confirmed the designation, which means communities impacted will have access to disaster assistance and emergency loans.
It also means that aid programs will be opened up that otherwise would not have been.
Oddly enough, though, Wayne County was not given the designation – at least not directly.
They are eligible for assistance, but not through the primary natural disaster area.
Instead, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Onondaga, Ontario Orleans, Steuben. Wyoming and Yates counties are included in the designation.
It’s unclear why several counties away from Lake Ontario are being classified for the disaster funding, despite not feeling the effects of Lake Ontario’s flooding.
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