For some Vermont flood survivors, FEMA was the second major disaster last year

Source: Vermont Public (July 2024)

Significance: Overview of shortcomings of FEMA in response to July 2023 floods

Description: As part of the “One Year Later” series from Vermont Public, which covers the anniversary of the July 2023 floods, FEMA was lauded for its fast response to flood damage, visiting Vermont less than 48 hours after the rains stopped. However, a year after the July 2023 floods, survivors felt “mistreated and abandoned” by FEMA. Pitfalls of FEMA include high administrative costs that outweigh recovery funds distributed to Vermont; number of FEMA staffers assigned to recovery centers outnumbered the number of people who actually helped; lack of information on applying for aid. From FEMA’s perspective, their aid is meant to return homes back to being safe, sanitary, and functional and not match the benefits from other sources such as insurance. The burden of unmet needs of flood survivors has fallen on local, volunteer recovery groups which are not equipped to collaborate with FEMA due to lack of experience and manpower.

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Long-Term Recovery Groups Help Communities Affected by Disaster

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FEMA is out of cash, but they’re still covering some flood damages in Vermont