U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) last week to offer financial relief to Washington County, Maine, cities that have been hit with several successive snowstorms in recent weeks.
In a letter addressed to FEMA Administrator William C. Fugate, the lawmakers explains that the extreme snowfall the state has experienced has forced the closure of several businesses, trapped residents inside their homes and rendered highways useless, potentially creating a financial and health crisis in the region.
“These back-to-back storms, and accompanying single-digit and subzero temperatures have required extraordinary measures to clear roads, streets and bridges, and to provide basic services to residents, particularly in many of the towns in the eastern part of the county,” the letter said. “The storms have also severely taxed already stretched municipal snow removal budgets, equipment and personnel.”
FEMA’s threshold for determining the need for assistance with snow removal is typically measured by the individual storm. In their letter, the senators pleaded with Fugate to consider the cumulative amount of snow that fell over the past 30 days. The National Weather Service in Caribou, Maine, has described the recent Washington County snowfall as “unparalleled” in the past century.