STOWE, Vt. (WCAX) – Federal and state officials traveled to Stowe Tuesday to assess flood damage from the June 23 storms. The results of the assessment will help determine if damage in Caledonia and Lamoille counties is eligible for a public assistance disaster declaration.
Flooding two weeks ago hit parts of central Vermont hard. In Stowe, Darren Orr’s 13-year-old son was separated from his family when the storm washed away their dirt road.
“I saw it on the other side, right here,” Orr said. “I had to cross that roaring river.”
Eventually the family was safely reunited, but the damage remains.
“This area has been impacted,” said Ben Rose of Vermont Emergency Management, who was part of a team of federal, state and local officials surveying the damage Tuesday, making several stops at washed-out roads and culverts. “This is a preliminary joint damage assessment to quantify the costs of infrastructure damage.”
The state already estimates infrastructure repair costs will be more than $1.5 million, but it has to prove that to FEMA. “They’re trying to show us everything that’s happened and what’s happening so we can see if we can validate it,” FEMA’s Kim Fuller said.
If approved, the declaration would provide 75 percent reimbursement to communities for local cleanup and repairs after the storm.
“We believe the damage in Stowe alone exceeds the threshold set by the state,” Rose said. “For these smaller storms, you have to get out and walk the roads, get out the tape measures and the wheels and measure.”
It’s something Orr and other residents appreciate. “It was crazy, but what was even more exciting was seeing the problem get fixed so quickly,” he said. “It’s like living in Vermont, you have to deal with Mother Nature sometimes.”
FEMA and state officials plan to make a few more stops before sending a final figure to the governor to request those federal funds.
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