State begins federal assistance process after storm damage

Staff Report
Rutland Herald
WATERBURY, Vt. — An update sent Saturday morning by Vermont Emergency Management about the recent windstorm said the state is in the early stages of requesting federal assistance.

Vermont Emergency Management Director Erica Bornemann has requested a preliminary damage assessment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, which is a step toward applying for a federal public assistance disaster declaration for public infrastructure repairs.

According to the state’s emergency management, 12 towns have reported major impacts from the storm, including Fairfax, Hyde Park, Johnson, Montgomery, Richmond, Stowe, Thetford, Waterville, Williston, Wolcott, Worcester and Weybridge.

More communities are expected to be added to the list as towns assess damage.

More than 25,000 customers were without electric service statewide as of about 10 a.m. on Saturday. Administrators from three Vermont utilities said on Friday some customers should not expect restoration before the early part of next week.

Two shelters opened Friday night in Newport, at the municipal offices at 222 Main St., and St. Albans, at the St. Albans Town Educational Center at 169 South Main St. Those will remain open on Saturday for those who need a warm place to go or a place to charge cell phones.

Flood warnings continue for the Missisquoi River at East Berkshire, the Lamoille River at Jeffersonville and the Barton River near Coventry. Drivers are reminded to stay off flooded roads.

Residents with damage to their homes should contact 211 to make a report. If there is no answer, a message may be left so the call can be returned. Staff at 211 will document damage for state efforts to obtain federal aid, and to contact homeowners to explain appropriate services.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation is communicating state road closures on its social media channels, at www.newengland511.org, and on its website at. vtrans.vermont.gov/emergency.

For weather, road, emergency and other alerts delivered directly to a phone or email, Vermonters can sign up for Vermont Alert for free at www.vtalert.gov.

Other resources can be found at:

The Vermont Emergency Management website is at www.vem.vermont.gov and the Facebook page is at www.facebook.com/vermontemergencymanagement while the Twitter Feed is at @vemvt.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation is on Twitter at @AOTVermont and Facebook at www.facebook.com/VTransontheroad while other information is available from the AOT on the web at vtrans.vermont.gov/emergency, or www.newengland511.org.

The National Weather Service on Social Media can be found at NWS Albany www.facebook.com/NWSAlbany/ or https://twitter.com/NWSAlbany or NWS Burlington www.facebook.com/NWSBurlington or https://twitter.com/NWSBurlington.