White House Overrules FEMA On Mass. Storm Aid

Pertains to Severe Storms and Flooding from Sept. 11 to Sept. 13, 2023

President Joe Biden overturned a Federal Emergency Management Agency denial of a major disaster declaration for the strong storms that flooded parts of Massachusetts in September, though the new federal action appears to still fall short of what Gov. Maura Healey had sought.

The White House announced late Wednesday night that Biden had determined “that a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms and flooding” from Sept. 11 to Sept. 13, 2023.

The White House said the action makes federal assistance available to people in Bristol and Worcester counties. The state had been seeking assistance for Hampden County as well. FEMA did not respond to a request for more information.

An official from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said Massachusetts requested “public assistance” for Hampden and Worcester counties, and “individual assistance” for Worcester and Bristol counties. The White House’s announcement Wednesday night dealt only with “individual assistance,” the MEMA official said, and the state’s request for “public assistance” remains under review.

When Healey appealed FEMA’s denial in March, she said recovery needs “far outpace” what the state could offer to Bay Staters who, in some cases, lost their homes to flooding from the storms. Viewing flood damage in North Attleborough (Bristol County), Healey consoled a woman as she learned that her home would be condemned after filling with six feet of water the night before.

“The rainfall experienced between September 11-13, 2023, resulted in extraordinary concentrations of damages that justify Federal assistance. The extensive damage was so concentrated across Worcester and Hampden Counties that it warrants further consideration,” Healey wrote in her March appeal.

The governor said that Springfield, in Hampden County, “experienced a catastrophic water main break attributed to the failure of a culvert and subsequent erosion related to the rainfall” and that FEMA had excluded portions of repair and debris removal costs “contrary to the opinions of the City’s engineers and subject matter experts.”

FEMA said people in Bristol and Worcester counties can begin to apply for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or on the FEMA app. Assistance could include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, loans to cover uninsured property losses, and cost-sharing opportunities for statewide hazard mitigation.