A new report says report it’s likely that by the second anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene in August,
much of the recovery work will be finished and the focus will shift to
preparing for the next disaster.
Job losses in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene were in many cases
temporary, lasting only as long as it took businesses to repair damage
from the flood. The financial impact of those layoffs has been more lasting, but lawmakers may have found a way to soften the blow.
More than 100 Vermont
families lost their homes in Tropical Storm Irene. At least six had houses that
were destroyed by the flood, but were deemed ineligible for a FEMA buy-back
program because of where they appear on FEMA’s maps.
Vermont officials are hoping a decision by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency to cover the cost of replacing a culvert in
Townshend destroyed by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene means more towns will
be eligible for similar funding.
When the 2011 flood receded many Vermonters didn’t wait for
government help. Residents and volunteers hauled away mud, debris and even
flood-damaged homes that were on the brink of collapse. But people who cleared
away property may not be eligible for federal funds.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has
agreed to buy out 90 properties across Vermont that were damaged by 2011
flooding, most from Tropical Storm Irene.
The governor announced Tuesday that the state has come up with
the money to help buy those properties that were destroyed by Tropical Storm
Irene, and that FEMA has deemed ineligible for its funding.
The state of Vermont is announcing today it will cover 75
percent of the cost of buying out homes that FEMA has deemed ineligible for a
federal buy-out.
Some Vermont property owners, whose homes were destroyed during
Tropical Storm Irene, have received good news. Six towns have made formal
offers to homeowners to buy their flood-damaged property using federal funds.
In
2011, floods in the spring, and Tropical Storm Irene later that year destroyed
more than 150 mobile homes and damaged hundreds of others. A
meeting in Burlington Friday took stock of long term efforts to minimize future storm
damage at mobile home parks.