Just 30 days after President Joe Biden declared a major disaster for the state of Vermont following the July severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides, more than $27.9 million in federal assistance has been provided by FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to support the state’s recovery.
Individual Assistance
Residents of nine Vermont counties can apply for Individual Assistance: Caledonia, Chittenden, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor.
Homeowners and renters whose homes and property were damaged by the storms have until Sept. 12, 2023 to apply.
As of Aug. 14, Vermont’s recovery assistance includes:
- More than $12.7 million in FEMA’s Individual and Households Program grants awarded to eligible homeowners and renters in nine Vermont counties. These grants help residents pay for uninsured storm-related losses, including:
- More than $12.6 million in FEMA housing grants to help pay for home repair, home replacement and rental assistance for temporary housing
- More than $1.2 million in Other Needs Assistance grants to help pay for personal property replacement and other serious storm-related needs such as moving and storage fees, transportation, childcare, and medical and dental expenses
- FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program has paid $6.2 million in claims for policyholders.
- The SBA has approved more than $8.9 million in long-term, low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations to repair, rebuild or replace disaster-damaged physical property and cover economic injury.
The state and FEMA have staffed and operated 11 Disaster Recovery Centers in nine counties to provide one-on-one assistance to survivors. A total of 1,372 survivors have visited these centers.
Recovery specialists from the state, FEMA, and SBA provide information on available services, explain assistance programs, and help survivors complete or check the status of their applications for assistance. No appointment is necessary to visit – walk-ins are welcome. All centers are open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and will shift to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 16.
FEMA supported Multi-Agency Resource Centers (MARCs) run by the state of Vermont, where public and private organizations came together to assist those affected by the disaster. As of Aug. 5, all MARC services transferred to Disaster Recovery Centers.
FEMA has sent Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) teams to storm-affected neighborhoods in every designated county. These teams travel door-to-door, visiting homes, businesses, and nonprofit organizations to help residents apply, identify and address immediate and emerging needs, and make referrals to other local, state and voluntary agencies for additional support. DSA personnel have interacted with more than 8,700 residents and visited more than 18,800 households and 1,040 businesses to help survivors apply for assistance.
FEMA is working to remove barriers to assistance, ensuring all survivors have equal access to disaster aid and resources. FEMA offers help in many languages through our Helpline at 800-621-3362, and is translating information and resources into 11 languages, including Spanish.
Public Assistance
FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program reimburses counties, the state and certain nonprofits for eligible costs of disaster-related debris removal, emergency protective measures and repair and replacement of disaster-damaged facilities such as roads, bridges, public utilities, including water treatment and electrical plants, government buildings and parks.
Fourteen Vermont counties have been designated for some form of Public Assistance:
- Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor counties have been designated for emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance.
- Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham, and Windsor Counties have been approved for debris removal, emergency protective measures – including direct federal assistance – and restoration of disaster-damaged facilities.
- Under the President’s order, the federal share for emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, has been increased to 100% (from 75%) of the total eligible costs for a continuous 30-day period of the state’s choosing within the first 120 days from the start of the incident period (July 7).
- Vermont Emergency Management hosted five briefings across the state providing information on the Request for Public Assistance (RPA) process with support from FEMA Public Assistance from July 31 to Aug. 4, 2023. More than 200 people attended the five briefings.
Debris Removal: As of Aug. 12, the state of Vermont and FEMA have removed 5,786 tons of debris in response to the flooding.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
FEMA often refers disaster survivors to SBA to apply for a low-interest disaster loan.
SBA disaster loans are the largest source of federal disaster recovery funds for survivors. SBA offers long-term, low-interest disaster loans to businesses, private nonprofits, homeowners and renters to help them build back better, stronger and more resilient.
Disaster loans can be used to make property improvements that eliminate future damage and can save lives. Approved loans can be increased to make building upgrades or improvements to mitigate future damage.
SBA has established three Business Recovery Centers for residents to meet with SBA representatives and find out how a low-interest disaster loan can help them recover.
To find a Business Recovery Center near you, call (800) 659-2955. To apply for a loan online, visit DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov.
FEMA’s Commitment
FEMA is committed to ensuring disaster assistance is accomplished equitably, without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. Any disaster survivor or member of the public may contact the FEMA Civil Rights Office if they feel that they are the victim of discrimination. FEMA’s Civil Rights Office can be contacted toll-free at 833-285-7448. Multilingual operators are available.
For the latest information on Vermont’s recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4720. Follow the FEMA Region 1 account on Twitter at twitter.com/FEMARegion1, the FEMA Facebook page at facebook.com/FEMA, or the Vermont Emergency Management Agency on Twitter at twitter.com/vemt and on Facebook at facebook.com/VermontEmergencyManagement.