Valley News – FEMA officials arrive in Vermont to assess Beryl damage

A little more than a week after the remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl caused flooding in central and northern Vermont, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are on the scene assessing damage across the state, Gov. Phil Scott said Friday.

FEMA officials arrived in Vermont Thursday and are working to fulfill the state’s request for a preliminary damage assessment. That will help determine whether the state is eligible for a major disaster declaration — and the federal funding that could follow.

“If they determine that we are reaching the threshold for declaring a major disaster, we will make a formal request to the president,” Gov. Phil Scott said at a news briefing in Berlin on Friday. “Which will bring significant federal resources to the state.”

Federal officials are currently in eight counties – Addison, Chittenden, Essex, Orleans, Washington, Caledonia, Lamoille and Orange – examining damage to public infrastructure such as roads, bridges and water treatment plants.

If the damage to these facilities is severe enough, Vermont may be eligible for public assistance, meaning funding for infrastructure repairs and storm response costs. Federal officials must confirm that public infrastructure in the state has incurred $1.183 million in such costs to be eligible for public assistance. The state estimates the storm caused at least $15 million in damage to public infrastructure.

Next week, FEMA will begin assessing whether individual counties have enough damage to qualify for individual assistance from the federal government, according to Scott. To be eligible, a county must show that the storm caused $4.60 in damage per capita.

Scott said it should become clear whether the state has met that threshold next week.

Vermont is also seeking a separate disaster declaration from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Scott announced Friday, a move that could unlock federal financial assistance to help Vermonters deal with damage to their farms.

So far, Vermont 211, the state’s flood damage hotline, has received 1,921 reports of damage to private homes and 207 reports of damage to businesses, Scott said Friday. That’s more than the state received in a similar time frame after last year’s floods, officials said — an apparent sign not necessarily of greater damage, but rather residents’ familiarity and comfort with the 211 system, they speculated .

The state also received reports of about 150 homes that were significantly damaged or destroyed, according to Eric Forand, Vermont’s director of emergency management.

As Vermont continues to gauge flood damage, state officials urged residents with even minor property damage to report it to Vermont 211. The state also plans to begin collecting flood debris from cities at the end of the month, and officials urged residents to move flood debris to the right-of-way for pickup.

And amid reports of landslides after the floods, Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore said residents could report any concerns about landslides on the Natural Resources Agency’s website.

The Red Cross announces emergency distribution sites

Separately, the American Red Cross announced it is hosting disaster supply distribution sites across the state this weekend in communities hardest hit by flooding. A distribution center will be open at Barre Auditorium from 10 a.m. to noon and 4 to 6 p.m. until Monday, July 22, according to the Red Cross. Other stations will fluctuate between affected cities and regions.

On Saturday morning, the organization plans to be based in St. Johnsbury School from 10 a.m. to noon and at Vermont State University-Lyndon Campus in Lyndonville from 4 to 6 p.m.

On Sunday, in addition to Barre Auditorium, the Red Cross plans to distribute supplies at Middlesex City Hall from 10 a.m. to noon and at Richmond City Hall from 4 to 6 p.m.

On Monday morning, the site is expected to return to Vermont State University-Lyndon Campus from 10 a.m. to noon and will be in Plainfield across from the Plainfield Health Center from 4 to 6 p.m. .

Kristen Fountain contributed reporting.