Large swaths of Rep. Pat Ryan’s 18th Congressional district in New York’s Hudson Valley saw unprecedented rainfall this week due to storms that Gov. Kathy Hochul said had been described as “a once-in-a-thousand-year-weather-event.”

Ryan’s district includes Orange and Putnam counties, as well as parts of Dutchess and Westchester counties.

“West Point, where I went to school, and the surrounding areas, were the epicenter of the entire storm,” Ryan told Capital Tonight. “In just a few hours, they had over eight inches of rain, which normally takes an entire season or summer to fall. The area was absolutely overwhelmed.”

All three of the main routes into West Point were blocked. Homes and businesses have collapsed under the rising waters.

“There are several larger senior apartment complexes, one in particular, where almost all the seniors are without a home – many for potentially months,” Ryan said. “That’s the thing. This is not going to be a quick clean up. We are in it for the long haul.”

There was one fatality: A woman in her mid-30s was swept into a ravine by flood waters.

In the short term, Ryan is assisting in local recovery efforts, as well as “marshalling the full force and power of the federal government to get recovery dollars.”

“We are assessing the damage now. It’s going to be significant, tens of millions of dollars if not more in damage to bridges, roads, homes and businesses,” Ryan said.

In a bureaucratic wrinkle, West Point is not eligible for FEMA aid. Instead, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, along with Ryan, have written a letter to the Lieutenant General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, asking for immediate assistance to assess and repair damage to the military academy.

The letter reads, in part: “An initial assessment of the damages reveals a range of formidable challenges. These include collapsed sections of NY 218, extensive interior flooding in barracks, housing and academic buildings, substantial property damage, failed retaining walls, utility disruptions and hazardous mudslides.”

Regarding rail service, Ryan told Capital Tonight that many miles of track were damaged, particularly on the east bank of the Hudson River, where both Amtrak and Metro North lines run.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Amtrak service was still suspended between New York and Albany.

“I know both Metro North and Amtrak, their teams are working very hard to get service back on-line sometime this week,” Ryan said.

Buses are running from Croton Harmon to Poughkeepsie.