(Updated, 3:40 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has registered 12,228 homes and businesses that experienced damage during last week’s flooding, the agency said Monday.
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And a declaration by President Barack Obama late Friday now means the entire state can seek formal federal assistance. Previously, Obama had left Bristol County out of his “major disaster declaration.”
FEMA spokesman Leo Skinner said the agency has approved $4 million in grants for homeowners affected by the flooding that dumped more than 7 inches of rain on the state last week in less than 48 hours and led to evacuations and road closures.
FEMA opened two Disaster Recovery Centers, one in Cranston and one in Warwick, that have provided guidance to 770 residents and business owners affected by the storm as of Sunday evening, Skinner said. The agency is also looking to open at least four additional centers, Skinner said.
“We think things are moving along smoothly,” he said.
The centers also host representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration who can answer questions about the agency’s low-interest disaster loan program for homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofit organizations.
SBA Rhode Island District Director Mark Haywood said Monday that 1,477 businesses had applied for the federal loans and the agency’s center in Texas was working “around the clock” to process the applications. In addition, the agency has received 10,306 applications from homeowners for the residential versions of the loans.
“This is a major disaster. There’s no question about that,” Haywood said.
In a statement, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri hailed the federal response after Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano took a helicopter tour to view the damage Friday.
“The response from the federal government to assist Rhode Island has been tremendous,” he said. “President Obama and Secretary Napolitano assured me that all available FEMA resources would be made available to us as we recover from this devastation.”
R.I. National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Bruce Fletcher said the Guard is winding down its operations and turning over responsibility to FEMA. Fletcher said about 100 Guard members remain on active duty, down from more than 550 during the height of the storm. The governor deployed the Guard to assist the State Police and help with emergency response, a mission which have been accomplished Fletcher said.
“We’re going from response to stabilization,” he said.
Carcieri has said he expects the damage from the flood to total in the “hundreds of millions” of dollars and the path to an economic recovery to be slow.
