The Oxford County Emergency Management Agency is asking town administrators in Oxford County to collect primary home damage figures from private citizens in all municipalities, in preparation to request Federal Emergency Management Agency teams to review citizen damages at some point in the near future.
According to a written statement from Rumford Town Manager Stacy Carter, “If we are able to present enough information on private damages, FEMA teams will visit homes with major damage in the most logical and expedient order, focusing on destroyed or major damage first.”
These visits, he said, would be to “assess if we qualify for federal assistance for private citizens in Oxford County.”
Floodwaters from the confluence of the Androscoggin and Swift rivers inundate downtown Mexico on Tuesday morning, closing off a section of Route 2 into Rumford. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times
In addition to providing cost estimates to towns, Carter said residents with home insurance are encouraged to make insurance claims in the meantime, which is the first step to demonstrate all other resources have been exhausted before people might qualify for federal assistance.
The county’s emergency management agency is looking for specific information from residents, including:
1. Name;
2. Home address where damage occurred;
3. Phone number;
4. Brief statement of damages to the home; and
5. Photographs of the damage incurred at homes, which are necessary for the assessment. Photos should be labeled with an address or the name of the resident.
This is a fast process, so people are being asked to provide this information by 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 26, to meet FEMA deadlines. In Rumford, the information can be sent by email to town@rumfordme.org or delivered in person in an envelope marked “Private Rumford Citizen Primary Home Damage Information.”
For people living in other towns, contact your town office to find out where this information should be sent.
In addition to collecting contact information and brief statements at the local level, OCEMA is asking residents to also report damages through the state’s reporting tool if possible. The link to the Individual Assistance Grant Program page on the Maine EMA website is: maine.gov/mema/grants/individual-assistance-grant-program
Residents can also call 211 to report private home damage if they are uncomfortable with electronic reporting methods or do not have access to digital devices.
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