OGDENSBURG – As local residents continue to address flooding along the St. Lawrence River and the damage it has caused, the state is deploying additional Department of Financial Services Mobile Command Centers to the Lake Ontario region to provide insurance help to those affected.

The DFS Mobile Command Center will be at The Dobisky Center, 100 Riverside Ave., from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., for the next 5 days.

Those who are not able to visit the center can call the department's disaster hotline at 1-800-339-1759, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. for help with insurance-related issues.

In addition to the centers, state and local agencies are coordinating other aid.

A state press release reports that 30,000 sandbags, including 20,000 from the Army Corps of Engineers, have been deployed to St. Lawrence County to stem the tide of flooding in residential areas.

In addition, the DEC is expediting permitting, site inspections, and technical guidance for residents to address property damage. The DEC Region 6 office covering Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, has received 28 applications to date, issued 23 general permits and one individual permit.

St. Lawrence County property owners should contact the DEC Region 6 office for assistance with obtaining permits for on-site corrective actions or site inspections at: NYS DEC Region 6, (Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties), Regional Permit Administrator, Dulles State Office Building, 317 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601-3787; phone: 315-785-2245; fax: 315-785-2242; or email: dep.r6@dec.ny.gov.

A state of emergency was declared last week in Cayuga, Jefferson, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Oswego, St. Lawrence, and Wayne counties in order to expedite repair to impacted structures and construction of shoreline stabilization projects.

A press release from the governor’s office reports that a coordinated Lake Ontario Rapid Response Team was sent to the region. The team includes experts from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, state police and Office of General Services, along with city and county agencies.

Government agencies continue to monitor the rising levels of Lake Ontario and additional resources from state stockpiles have been shifted to locations in Monroe county in the event that conditions worsen.