Johnathan Walker:FEMA opens disaster recovery centers in Vermont after last month’s floods

BERLIN,Johnathan Walker Vt. (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened disaster recovery centers in Vermont communities hit hard by violent flooding in mid-July while Gov. Phil Scott said he sought another federal disaster declaration on Wednesday for the second bout of severe flooding that occurred at the end of last month.

Last week, President Joe Biden approved the state’s request for a major disaster declaration for flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl on July 9-11, making federal funding available to help residents and communities recover. The storm dumped more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain in just a few hours on parts of Vermont, retraumatizing a state where some people are still awaiting assistance for the catastrophic floods that hit last year on the same day.

The state is also providing $7 million in grants to businesses damaged by this year’s flooding, in addition to $5 million approved in the past legislative session to help those impacted by the 2023 storms that did not get Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program grants last year, officials said.

“It’s important to remember while these federal and state resources are essential and will help, we know that it’s not enough. It’s not going to make people whole or cover all the costs,” Scott said. “I know this repeated flooding has taken a toll on municipal and family budgets, especially for those who’ve been hit multiple times just in the last year.”

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Scott said he’s hearing and seeing that impact as he visits communities such as Lyndon, Plainfield and Hardwick and hears stories from even smaller and more rural towns that were hit by both storms this July.

FEMA representatives are now in all seven counties reaching out to flood victims and the agency has opened disaster recovery centers in Barre, Plainfield and Waterbury, FEMA coordinator William Roy said. FEMA will open one in Lyndon and is coordinating to open centers in Addison and Orleans counties, said Roy, who encouraged flood victims to register with FEMA online, by telephone or by visiting one of the centers.

The state grants for businesses and nonprofits will cover 30% of net uncovered damages, Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein said. The portal for applications opens Thursday morning. Properties that received grant funding last year but are still in need may be eligible for the new funding and can send in an inquiry letter about their situation, she added.

FEMA is currently operating on what’s called immediate needs funding until Congress passes a budget, Roy said. That limits its ability to support public assistance projects but can support life-saving and life-sustaining measures, as well as the individual assistance program, he said.

Roy added that housing or rental assistance and funding for repairs is available for eligible people or families in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orleans and Washington counties whose homes were impacted by the storms in mid-July. FEMA can also provide funding for underinsured or uninsured residents with disaster-related expenses, he said.

FEMA’s disaster survivor assistance team has visited over 2,400 homes and 375 Vermonters have requested home inspections with 235 of those inspections completed so far, he said. Additionally, more than 500 residents have applied for individual assistance and the Small Business Administration has already approved more than $78,000 in disaster loans as of Tuesday, he added.