State and federal officials were in the Concord area Thursday, trying to determine whether the pre- Christmas storms caused enough damage to justify a presidential emergency declaration, which would make federal money available for repairs.
Members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been visiting hard-hit areas with officials from the New Hampshire’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management as well as local representatives for preliminary damage assessments.
If the state-wide damage threshold of almost $2.5 million is met, or if counties meet their own threshhold to qualify for assistance, Gov. Chris Sununu could request the president to declare a disaster for the state or counties. That would make low-cost loans or grants available to communities to cover the cost of response, including emergency repairs that have already been made.
Officials were in the Alton area on Wednesday and in the Concord region on Thursday. They will remain in the state until a determination is made about damage, said Vanessa Palange, a Department of Safety spokeswoman.
Vermont has already requested federal assistance due to the storm and FEMA officials were recently in Maine conducting a similar evaluation.
The current work involves examining paperwork as much as touring damage to roads and buildings, said Palange. “The damage that occurred was widespread … and a lot of it has been fixed already.”
She pointed to issues such as frequent collapse of road shoulders due to very heavy rains, which were followed by high winds that knocked down trees, utility lines and damaged buildings.
Roughly 126,000 people were without power for hours or days in New Hampshire, and tens of thousands more in neighboring states, due to the storm that swept through from Dec. 22 to Christmas Day.
Utility crews restored power to most customers within a few days, while fallen trees were removed and roads reopened. By contrast, the floods and washouts that led to a federal disaster declaration two years ago took longer to repair.
“In 2021, when we requested a disaster declaration there was a lot of damage that couldn’t be repaired right away, so you could see it,” Palange said.
