Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have arrived in Maine to evaluate and validate damage from last month's severe wind, rain and flooding.
In the wake of the Dec. 18 storm, Gov. Janet Mills had asked FEMA to dispatch officials to the state to conduct a preliminary damage assessment, the first formal step toward requesting a Major Disaster Declaration from the federal government. FEMA approved the governor's request last week.
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Beginning Tuesday, FEMA and the Maine Emergency Management Agency will be traveling across the state to review and validate damage assessments gathered by local officials.
If FEMA agrees that costs associated with the December storm are beyond the state's capabilities to address, Mills said she will request a Major Disaster Declaration from President Joe Biden.
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“I thank FEMA for quickly fulfilling my request to dispatch officials to Maine. FEMA’s assessment will be critical to unlocking Federal funds to help Maine communities clean up and rebuild after last month’s devastating storm,” Mills said in a statement. “I continue to urge impacted Maine people to report any property damage to 211 to help State of Maine and Federal officials measure the full impact of the storm and help us access Federal benefits.”
Mills declared a civil state of emergency in the wake of last month's storm after hundres of thousands of people lost power just days before Christmas and caused significant flooding and infrastructure damage to roads and highways.
Four people died in Maine as a result of the storm. In Windham, police said part of a tree fell and killed 40-year-old Troy Olson, who was removing debris from his roof. And in Fairfield, 77-year-old William Tanner was fatally injured while removing a downed tree with a tractor. And two people who went missing after their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters in Mexico were later found dead.
