BERLIN, Vt. (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened disaster response centers in Vermont communities hit hard by severe flooding in mid-July, while Gov. Phil Scott said Wednesday he has filed for a new federal disaster declaration for the second round of severe flooding that hit late 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 on parts of Vermont in just a few hours, retraumatizing a state where some people are still waiting for aid for catastrophic flooding that struck on the same day last year.
The state is also providing $7 million in grants to businesses damaged by this year’s flooding, in addition to the $5 million approved last session to help businesses affected by the 2023 storms that did not receive grants from the Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program last year, officials said.
“It’s important to remember that while these federal and state resources are essential and will help, we know it’s not enough. It’s not going to make people whole or cover all the costs,” Scott said. “I know these repeated floods have taken a toll on municipal and family budgets, especially for those who have been hit multiple times in the past year.”
Scott says he hears and sees the impact when he visits communities like Lyndon, Plainfield and Hardwick and hears stories of even smaller and more rural towns that were hit by both storms last July.
FEMA representatives are now in all seven counties reaching 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 the opening of centers in Addison and Orleans counties, Roy said, encouraging flood victims to register with FEMA online, by phone or by visiting one of the centers.
The state grants for businesses and nonprofits will cover 30% of net uncovered losses, Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein said. The application portal opens Thursday morning. Properties that received grant money last year but still need it may be eligible for the new funding and can submit a letter of application detailing their situation, she added.
FEMA is currently working on what is known as immediate financing needs until Congress passes a budget, Roy said. That limits the ability to support public assistance projects, but can support life-saving and life-extending measures, as well as the individual assistance program, he said.
Roy added that housing or rental assistance and financing for repairs is available to eligible individuals or families in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orleans and Washington counties whose homes were affected by the mid-July storms. FEMA can also provide funding to underinsured or uninsured residents with disaster-related expenses, he said.
FEMA’s disaster relief team has visited more than 2,400 homes and 375 Vermonters have requested home inspections, with 235 completed so far, he said. Additionally, more than 500 residents have applied for individual assistance and the Small Business Administration approved more than $78,000 in disaster loans as of Tuesday, he added.
