September 20, 2024 10:55 pm
• Last Updated: September 20, 2024 10:55 pm

A bridge washed out on Seth Den Road in Oxford, Conn. after torrential rains turned streets into raging rivers in parts of Connecticut and New York’s Long Island, trapping people in cars and a restaurant, covering vehicles in mud, and sweeping two women to their deaths, authorities said, Monday, Aug 19, 2024. (AP Photo Dave Collins)

Southbury — Less than two weeks after Connecticut submitted its application, the White House on Friday declared Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield counties a major federal disaster area from the deadly August 18 storms and flooding, making dozens of homeowners eligible for up to $42,500 in Federal Emergency Management Agency relief and business owners in line for support from the federal Small Business Administration.

During a late-afterrnoon news conference in Town Hall, Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., joined local and state officials in thanking businesses and residents for acting promptly to total up their damages from the storms that wrecked 77 businesses and completely destroyed 19 homes. The total damages are more than $300 million, with other assessments underway.

“The flooding was absolutely something out of Noah’s Arc,” Lamont said, stressing the major disaster designation means expedited federal support for homeowners and small business owners. He said that $25,000 state grants for businesses are almost fully dispersed to hundreds of businesses. The federal disaster designation means that the state Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will work with FEMA and the SBA on locations to open disaster recovery and business recovery centers to provide personal support.

Brenda Bergeron, deputy commissioner in the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said the 16 towns affected by the flooding did important jobs in assessing damages and getting the information quickly, expediting the federal review process even as local officials were responding to the initial challenges of the damage.

Bergeron said a number of programs are available including one for uninsured home repairs of up to $42,500. There is also assistance for emergency housing and the replacement of home equipment including furnaces and hot water heaters. There is also $750 available in immediate needs for homeowners to pay bills. FEMA will likely establish two disaster-recovery centers in the state.

The SBA will also set up two centers for businesses to discuss uninsured costs and will offer low-interest homeowner loans with payments deferred for a year. “It really gives people who may have some insurance down the road, or who are in the midst of a claim, to get a loan and repay it when they get whatever is coming to them,” Bergeron said.

“We are seeing some light out of the storm and a path forward for being able to start the recovery effort and hopefully getting our citizens of Southbury back to a much-better place soon,” said First Selectman Jeff Manville, estimating local damages at $91 million, not including government property, such as the local library, the basement of which was wrecked when the nearby Bullet Hill Brook flooded. “We will be getting help for the homeowners affected by the storm. It’s going to take time to recover from this.”

Manville said that once local officials establish how to rebuild the library basement and its heating and cooling systems, he hopes to get federal aid for the work.

“Right now we’ve gotten the Individual Assistance declaration, which is the program for people and businesses,” Bergeron said, stressing that FEMA is still assessing under the Public Assistance program. “For the initial threshold determination of whether we hit the thresholds to ask for the Public Assistance program, we have to be able to put in the verified costs for putting it back the way it was.” She asked local officials in the 16 towns to act promptly if FEMA contacts them for more information on damages.

Blumenthal said that not only was the declaration faster than normal, but relief checks should also get to residents within weeks under the variety of programs available. “By federal standards, this aid has come with lightning speed,” Blumenthal said. “Very few major disaster declarations have been achieved this quickly in our state’s history or even our country’s past. They made it a priority and I’ll be very blunt, we made it a priority as a delegation. Let’s keep our eye on where we need to go with this rebuilding. We want to rebuild fast, but rebuild better, with resilience.”

In all the FEMA/SBA team found six destroyed houses in Fairfield County and 13 in New Haven County. About 170 other homes sustained major damage and 133 houses were ruled to be inaccessible. Under FEMA guidelines, 615 homes were found to have minor damage. In all, 2,000 homes were inspected and only four were classified as unaffected. There were found to be 51 businesses with minor damage.

Business owners and residents who suffered major losses can begin the assistance application online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or by calling 800-621-3362, or on the FEMA app. They have 60 days to register.