East Providence says it funded buyouts of 13 repeatedly flooded Luther’s Corner homes

East Providence officials and residents described a federally supported buyout program that acquired 13 homes in the Luther’s Corner neighborhood after repeated flooding, including damage in 2021 from Hurricane Ida.

The buyouts, funded after the city applied for a grant flagged by Senator Reid’s office, aim to remove repeatedly flooded houses from the floodplain and restore the land to absorb stormwater, Mayor Bartossova said. Residents who sold told meeting participants the move ended recurring danger and anxiety during storms.

"My name is Beth Galligan. The flooding was pretty bad. I remember looking out the window, like I said, at, like, 3 in the morning when my neighbor called to move our cars, and there was just, like, waves in the street. It was crazy. I've never seen anything…