President Joe Biden has declared the twin storms that smashed Maine’s coast in January a major disaster.
That proclamation, issued Thursday morning, makes federal assistance available to Cumberland, Hancock, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington and York counties.
The twin storms, which hit on Jan. 9 and 13, caused an estimated $70.3 million in damage to public infrastructure, which Gov. Janet Mills said in a letter requesting the federal disaster declaration is beyond Maine’s capacity to address.
The storms severely damaged historic lighthouses, sand dunes and seawalls, working waterfronts, and washed away homes or knocked them off their foundations. One midcoast official described the devastation as “absolute carnage.”
After the coastal flooding, Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough have even begun contemplating closing a road that bisects a marsh between the towns.
That further compounded about $20 million in infrastructure damage from the Dec. 18 wind storm, which Biden declared a major disaster in late January.
This latest disaster declaration will make Mainers eligible for grants to cover the cost of temporary housing or home repairs, loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other recovery programs.
Federal funding also will be available for state, tribal and local governments and some nonprofits on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged during the storms.
Additionally, funds will be available for “hazard mitigation.” That will come as good news for some communities as damage to sand dunes, seawalls and other infrastructure has left the coast more vulnerable to the next storm.