Magicpiano | Fort Western, Augusta, Maine. View of stockade and fort buildings. | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AugustaME_FortWestern_View.jpg | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
President Joe Biden has approved a Major Disaster Declaration for ten Maine counties after a storm caused large amounts of damage from December 17 through December 21, 2023. The storm caused flooding, power outages and property damage across central and western Maine. The assistance will not only be for infrasctructure repairs such as roads but also for families and individuals that experienced severe property damages.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) will establish Disaster Recovery Centers which will help affected communities apply for disaster assistance, learn about disaster programs, and other FEMA related assistance. Individual assistance will be provided to eligible families that meet the federal governmant’s statutory financial threshold.
FEMA estimated that the storm created $20 million in public infrastructure damage. Their assessment identified 13 destroyed, 106 major, 65 minor, and 31 affected properties across the five hardest hit counties.