By Stephen Cheslik
EAGLE TIMES MANAGING EDITOR
A federal disaster declaration will bring help to Vermont in the coming days and months. President Biden made the declaration Tuesday morning, while at a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. The declaration authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts across the state.
“This will help mobilize federal resources to support our response and recovery efforts for this unfolding and ongoing disaster,” said Vermont Gov. Phil Scott during a press briefing Tuesday. “This is nowhere near over and at this phase, our primary focus continues to be on life and safety before we can shift into a recovery phase,” Scott said.
Thousands of Vermonters have lost homes and businesses, according to Scott. “The devastation is far reaching.”
The President’s declaration allows FEMA to provide help under the Stafford Act, which allows direct federal assistance, grants, technical support and reimbursement for emergency response costs.
FEMA issued a statement saying it has been authorized to “identify, mobilize and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.”
In the immediate days, FEMA will be focused on “critical needs assistance” said External Affairs Officer Andrew Bowser.
“Food, clothing, these sorts of things,” Bowser said.
It won’t be the only assistance Vermonters receive, just something “really quick” that can be delivered with minimal effort on the recipients part.
In the coming days, more types of assistance will become available from the federal agency, Bowser said.
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