Irene recovery

by the numbers



As of June 30, 2012



Communities that were isolated: 13

Number of homes that were damaged statewide: 3,500

Number of miles of state roads damaged: 500

Number of bridges closed: 34

Miles of railway made impassable by Irene: 200

Number of people who died in Vermont as a result of Tropical Storm Irene: 6

Number of state employees who were displaced: 1,500

Of Vermont’s 251 towns, number impacted by Irene: 225

Number of towns considered to be “hard-hit”: 54

Local bridges and roads currently awaiting repair: 30

Percentage of the 3,500 damaged town-owned roads, bridges and culverts that have been re-opened: 99

FEMA grants distributed to families and individuals distributed: $22.7 million

Households awarded the maximum grant of $30,200: 220



Additional FEMA assistance granted to 86 mobile homeowners after the state was given the authority to declare them condemned: $1 million

Estimated amount of private donations to the Vermont Community Foundation from a variety of locally based Irene relief efforts: $11 million

Long Term Recovery Committees set up in the most heavily impacted areas: 9

FEMA applicants with unmet needs: 1,638

Unmet FEMA needs in Windsor County alone, the most of all the counties: $2,198,662

Vermont Strong plates sold to benefit the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund: 14,300

Funds raised from license plate sales: $160,000

Additional plates shipped to retailers around the state: 11,900



Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds secured by the state from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: $21.7 million

Percentage of the funding that must be used in Windsor and Washington counties: 80

Affordable rental apartment buildings flooded in Brattleboro, leading to the displacement of elderly and disabled tenants: 6

Cost estimated by the Brattleboro Housing Authority to redevelop: $15 million

Real Property Verified Losses recorded by the FEMA Individuals and Households Program, representing just over 1,000 homes and businesses: $25.5 million



Increase in downtown tax credits passed by the Legislature for eligible small businesses and rental properties: $500,000

Average loan to businesses of the 294 granted by the Vermont Economic Development Authority: $56,297

Total amount of VEDA loans: $16,551,357

Small Business Administration loans approved to 140 businesses: $17.4 million

SBA loans approved by late March to businesses and individuals combined: $33 million

Funds accelerated by the State Treasurer’s Office to cash-strapped towns and schools: $155 million

Towns developing project worksheets for FEMA to rebuild damaged roads, bridges and culverts: 200

Percentage of the 2,231 completed project worksheets that include infrastructure upgrades or improvements: 23

Increase in funding in the Town Highway Structures program, provided by the passage of the Transportation Bill: $500,000

Percent reduction in the amount towns are responsible for to repair highways under the Federal Highway Emergency Relief program, another feature of the Transportation Bill: 10

Percentage state will now contribute under the amended program: 10

Initial amount allocated by the Legislature to restore and renovate Waterbury’s State Office Complex: $12 million

Stream banks and channels in need of work from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Emergency Watershed Protection program: 152

Sites the EWP identified as urgent: 51

Of those urgent sites, number where work has been completed: 35



Agricultural producers reporting damage to the USDA: 463

Estimated acres of land damaged, including lost crops and infrastructure, land washed away and wind damage to maple sugar woods: 9,348

Farmers awarded Vermont Community Foundation grants: 198

Total funds awarded to farmers by that committee of state and local agencies: $1.9 million (A sixth round is in progress)

Farmers reporting all storm damage repairs had been completed of 375 surveyed in May: 50

Farmers from the same survey who believe their recovery will need additional economic assistance: 46

Federal grants being distributed to repair damaged fields: $4.7 million

Percentage increase in unemployment claims from Sept. 3-10: 376



Starting Over Strong crisis counselors providing free mental health and educational services in the hardest hit areas of the states: 15

Individuals contacted through SOS door-to-door outreach: 411

Individuals served by SOS and in group educational or counseling settings: 870





Sources: Vermont Recovering Stronger Irene Recovery Status Report; Sue Minter, Vermont Recovery Officer; Shumlin administration