MAINE, USA — The state of Maine is encouraging people to report damage from last week's storms.
The storm on Saturday, Jan. 13, broke several high-water records, leaving destruction in its wake just days after many communities were still regrouping from a storm on Wednesday, Jan. 10, that brought high winds, heavy rains, and flooding to several parts of the state.
The Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has asked that impacted parties report the damage from the Jan. 10 storm by Jan. 18, and impacted parties from the Jan. 13 storm report the damage by Jan. 22.
Individuals of private industry and privately owned commercial infrastructure, including wharfs, floats, and vessels, who experienced property damage from last week's storms can document and report damage through the online Business and Agriculture Initial Damage Assessment Survey.
The reporting is not an application for assistance nor a guarantee of financial assistance, according to the state. However, submission of damage information will help the state best understand the extent of damage from the storms on Jan. 10 and Jan. 13.
People who sustained damages to their primary residence are encouraged to document and report that damage by filling out the Individuals & Households Initial Damage Assessment Survey (online), or by reporting damages to 211 Maine. This is also not an application for assistance nor a guarantee of financial assistance, according to the state.
MEMA spokesperson Vanessa Corson told NEWS CENTER Maine that people who have not reported storm damage yet but incurred damage during both recent storms only need to fill out the survey once. However, they must indicate which storm caused the damage. For example: "Roof damage from 1/10/24 storm, basement flooded and ruined the furnace during 1/13/24 storm."
The state encourages people who already filled out the survey after the Jan. 10 storm and then sustained further damage during the Jan. 13 storm to fill out the survey again with any new information.
"The more information the state receives, the greater the chances of potentially receiving relief," Corson told NEWS CENTER Maine in an email.
Corson added a reminder that these damage reports are not applications for assistance but rather a way to gather information to assess damages.
"Information provided will help the State of Maine estimate the full impact of the storm and unlock the maximum amount of potential Federal support available," she said.
The state encourages people to share this information with anyone on Maine's working waterfront who may have experienced damage.
"We recognize that docks, buildings and wharfs in the waterfront will need to be re-built and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is working on guidance for the necessary permits for rebuilding waterfront structures and we will share that guidance as soon as it is available," MEMA commissioner Patrick Keliher said in a news release.
Keliher added that the Maine Department of Marine Resources is also trying to determine if there are other disaster declarations that could be made specific to Maine's working waterfront.
"This type of request will require additional information related to the impacts and will take a year or more to establish revenue loss," the commissioner stated. "This is a much harder threshold to meet, but one we must look at if we are to be able to assist in the rebuilding of a more resilient working waterfront."
On Wednesday, MEMA requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) begin conducting a Preliminary Damage Assessment as the first formal step toward requesting another Major Disaster Declaration from the federal government, according to a news release from Governor Janet Mills' office.
MEMA requested FEMA send officials to York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Hancock, and Washington Counties and begin their evaluation. If FEMA determines that the costs of damages exceed the state's ability to address them, Mills will formally request a Major Disaster Declaration from President Biden, the release stated.
For more information on how to report storm damage, click here.