There are more resources available to people impacted by the historic rainfall and floods that happened in August.
Pres. Joe Biden approved a change to the disaster declaration he made a month ago. Now, the state can receive money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance Program.
The Public Assistance Program allows municipal governments in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven Counties — where the disaster was declared — the state government and certain nonprofits to apply for a 75% reimbursement for costs of repairing and rebuilding uninsured public infrastructure.
“Approval of this program will be a relief to many towns that experienced significant damage to public infrastructure from this storm, especially to roads and bridges that were completely destroyed and needed swift rebuilding to ensure that residents who live in these areas have access to critical routes,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a release. “The Biden-Harris administration has been extremely helpful in their response to this unprecedented flooding event, and I thank FEMA and the Small Business Administration for their on-the-ground actions in Connecticut to help our residents and businesses recover. I also thank the members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation for helping our state secure this declaration and the associated resources it provides.”
Lamont announced the update to the disaster declaration on Monday. Sen. Chris Murphy, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Rep. Jim Himes and Rep. Jahana Hayes were with him at the time.
“So many in southwest Connecticut are still rebuilding from August’s devastating flooding,” Himes said in the release. “I was glad to help bring federal disaster relief to repair the damage and support families in need of assistance, and I’m thrilled that the program has been expanded to offer additional aid without raising property taxes.”
In his original request, Gov. Ned Lamont asked Biden to include FEMA’s Public Assistance Program as a part of a relief package. Lamont estimated it would take around $14.3 million to repair damages to public infrastructure.
However, the original disaster declaration only approved access to the Individual Assistance Program and the Hazard Mitigation Program. The Individual Assistance gives individuals money to cover uninsured damage to private property and for other emergency-related actions. The Hazard Mitigation Program helps state and local governments take steps to reduce long-term risks to people and property from natural disasters.
The Small Business Administration also approved loan assistance to certain businesses and individuals in the original declaration.
“This announcement is good news for so many in Connecticut still recovering from the devastation caused by the August flooding,” Murphy said in the release. “No amount of money will undo the damage done, but these federal dollars will help ease the burden placed on our communities.”
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