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State official outlines FEMA reimbursements, ERAF loans and hazard‑mitigation funding after 2023–24 floods
Summary
State recovery official Douglas Farnham told the House Appropriations Committee that July 2023 floods caused more than $1 billion in estimated damage and that federal reimbursements, ERAF advances and short-term loans are being used to bridge municipal cash‑flow needs.
Douglas Farnham, Vermont’s chief recovery officer, told the House Appropriations Committee on Jan. 17 that state officials continue to manage complex FEMA reimbursements, Emergency Relief Assistance Fund (ERAF) advances and loan requests after major flooding in 2023 and 2024.
"The 2023 floods, of course, caused well over a $1,000,000,000 of damage," Farnham said, summarizing multi-agency damage estimates the state is reconciling with federal programs.
Why it matters: municipal infrastructure damages from the July 2023 floods and recurring 2024 events have created large cash‑flow and long‑term capital needs for small towns. Farnham described a mix of obligated FEMA funds, disbursed payments, state ERAF advances and short-term loans intended to bridge towns until federal reimbursements arrive.
Key numbers Farnham provided: FEMA has obligated roughly $79 million in projects to date for July 2023 flood work; about $40 million has been disbursed to towns where work was completed. The state estimated municipal damages for 2023 at about $200 million (a component of an overall damage estimate exceeding $1 billion). For the July 2023 event the legislature…
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