Photo: Senate President's Office
BOSTON (State House News Service) - State lawmakers toured flood damage sites in North Andover and Haverhill Wednesday, where officials are assessing the extent of wrecked businesses, homes, public infrastructure and other buildings as they prepare to seek federal disaster relief money.
In a statement, Senate President Karen Spilka, an Ashland Democrat, said it was "heartbreaking" to see devastated businesses and residential areas. North Andover declared a state of emergency following torrential rain last Tuesday, as did Haverhill after the flooding caused a massive sinkhole to form and displaced nearly two dozen residents, according to local news reports.
Spilka was joined by Sen. Barry Finegold of North Andover, Sen. Pavel Payano of Lawrence, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarrr of Gloucester, and staff from U.S. Sen. Ed Markey's office.
"I've spoken with the Administration and I understand that assessments of the damages are ongoing, and we will continue to work with Senators Finegold, Payano, and Tarr, as well as the Administration, MEMA, and our federal delegation to explore all potential options for those impacted by the storm," Spilka said in a statement to the News Service. "This is yet another reminder that climate change is here to stay, and we need to redouble our efforts to prepare and protect our Commonwealth from the impacts that are sure to continue to come."
Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Deputy Secretary of Public Safety and Security Susan Terrey, and Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director (MEMA) Dawn Brantley previously toured North Andover businesses that sustained flood damage, including Jaime's Restaurant. The owner, Jaime Faria, told the News Service that 5.5 inches of water poured into the restaurant, with another 5.5 feet of flooding in the basement, where refrigerators, ice machines, dry goods and alcohol are kept.
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton has also met with North Andover businesses, calling the flood damage a "real disaster," according to The Eagle-Tribune.
At one office building on the tour Wednesday, Finegold told the News Service "it looks like a bomb hit it."
Tarr was struck by the "pervasive nature of the damage," including a crumbling dam and water marks reaching as high as five or six feet inside buildings.
"It's hard to put into words the level of devastation in those buildings because this isn't a situation where there was just flood water -- there was water rushing through those buildings ... hydraulic force tearing places apart," Tarr said in an interview Wednesday afternoon.
There's a "potential path" for state relief through a future supplemental budget, Tarr said, as he noted the precedent set by the Legislature carving out $20 million for central and western Massachusetts farmers following flood damage within a recent $200 million supplemental package.
But for now, Tarr said the focus is on maximizing federal dollars for the Merrimack Valley to recover by securing a federal disaster declaration. That would help local and state governments be reimbursed for costs such as repairing or replacing damaged public facilities, according to a state webpage about the Federal Emergency Management Agency program.
MEMA has been in "constant" contact with local officials since last week and conducting damage assessments, said Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for Healey.
Essex County must meet a threshold of $3.6 million in damages and Massachusetts overall must reach a roughly $12.4 million threshold tied to last week's storm to be eligible for a federal public assistance program, Tarr said. Efforts are also underway to gauge whether households qualify for a separate FEMA program, according to Tarr's office.
Nearly 300 North Andover residents and businesses that sustained "significant damage" have submitted information to the town so far, Town Manager Melissa Rodrigues told the News Service Wednesday afternoon.
"We also have infrastructure damage that we are still categorizing and discovering. We are truly hoping that working with our neighboring communities we will make the thresholds for relief for residents and businesses," Rodrigues said in a statement as she invoked the Merrimack Valley gas explosions in 2018. "Many of the residents and businesses in this area were already impacted by Columbia Gas, and this is just devastating for our community."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated seven Massachusetts counties as primary disaster areas earlier this month, which allows farmers affected by the rain from July 9-16 to access federal loan support.
Still, Finegold lamented there aren't "easy solutions" to recovering from the latest storm, particularly as residents and businesses struggle to get help from their insurance companies.
"I think it's very frustrating when people pay a lot of money for insurance and they go to make a claim, and they say it's not covered for floods," said Finegold, who signaled lawmakers may need to consider insurance reform in the long-term. "People are not in flood zones and they had this flood."
Faria, the North Andover restaurant owner, said the damage at his business could cost more than $300,000. His insurance agent said he may recieve only $30,000 for equipment, and that his policy doesn't cover business interruptions and lost revenue from floods or pandemics.
"You think you're covered and you're not," said Faria, who has about 20 employees. "It should be more black and white and it's not."
Hand said the Mass Save program is prioritizing applications for rebates that are from "affected communities" that could cover some of the costs for replacing furnaces, water heaters and heat pumps.
"Our administration is committed to supporting recovery, as well as building long-term resilience to mitigate future harms as severe weather becomes more common due to climate change," Hand said in a statement.
Written By Alison Kuznitz/SHNS
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