Seacoast communities to receive FEMA funds to repair January storm damage

Seacoast communities in Rockingham County will receive federal disaster assistance to aid in the cleanup from the January storms that caused over $3 million in assessed public damages statewide.

President Joe Biden approved the state’s request for funding on Friday, a move announced by the White House that day.

Gov. Chris Sununu lauded the funding allocation on Monday. Despite asking for disaster funding for four New Hampshire counties, only Rockingham and Grafton counties were included in the declaration.

“Communities along the Seacoast saw unprecedented flooding from this severe storm and astronomical high tide,” Sununu said in a prepared statement. “In addition, Grafton Country experienced significant power outages from downed trees and limbs. This disaster declaration provides the opportunity for communities to recuperate costs incurred while fixing damages. The state will continue to work with officials in both counties to utilize relief funding to make the communities whole again.”

Sununu submitted the state’s disaster funding request in late March, seeking federal relief for Coos, Grafton, Rockingham and Sullivan counties. Local and state officials partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to conduct a preliminary damage assessment, which found that the public storm damage throughout New Hampshire between Jan. 9 and Jan. 14 cost $3,004,838.

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The state's request did not account for damage to private property or businesses in New Hampshire.

The governor called for a statewide designation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which gives money to municipalities to help their communities rebuild and prevent future disaster losses.

With Biden’s stamp of approval on the declaration, communities within Rockingham and Grafton counties can continue the process of receiving federal aid.

“This declaration will provide a step toward recovery in the communities that experienced severe flooding and power outages in January,” said Robert Buxton, director of the state Department of Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, in his own prepared statement. “We will continue to assist communities with the process of making repairs and working on mitigation projects to prevent similar problems in the future.”

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The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will arrange meetings with leaders in the affected communities throughout the two counties to explain the federal funding application process, per Sununu’s announcement.

Agencies that are eligible for receiving assistance include local, county and state agencies as well as nonprofits that provide critical services, the state noted.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast cities, towns to get FEMA funds to fix January storm damage