Residents fear slow response from FEMA

By ELBERT AULL, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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FLOOD WATCH Heavy rains wreaked havoc in southern Maine, damaging property and forcing people from their homes. Get coverage and share your photos and stories here. To top of story

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is scheduled to begin damage assessments in flood-weary York County on Friday, and some residents say the agency's response could be crucial in terms of restoring trust.

"I think they need to handle some of these smaller things to help rebuild people's confidence," said Berwick resident Marilyn Bachelder, who stopped to look at the rain-swollen Salmon Falls River early in the afternoon.

On the other side of the county, David Littlefield gawked at the remains of the Sherburne Bridge on the Ogunquit-Wells town line. Littlefield, 59, of Wells said he doesn't have much faith in FEMA after its performance after Hurricane Katrina, but therein lies opportunity for improvement.

"After that disaster down in New Orleans, they can only go one way - up," he said.

State officials said Tuesday that FEMA officials will evaluate whether damage to public and private property, which fall into separate aid categories, meet the minimums required to trigger aid.

The effort is scheduled to begin almost a week after a slow-moving rainstorm destroyed bridges, flooded homes and forced evacuations throughout the county.

The federal teams will be eyed by some skeptical residents, who said their perception of FEMA has been negative since the Hurricane Katrina disaster. An efficient performance in Maine would help improve the agency's image in a state where one senator supports its closure, they said.

Just last month, Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said: "We have concluded that FEMA is in shambles and beyond repair and that it should be abolished. Her comments came after a bipartisan committee she headed recommended the agency be disbanded.

While no York County resident put it quite as bluntly as Collins, many said they were concerned residents will have to wait months for relief funds if the area qualifies.

Carrie Carruth and her neighbors on Intervale Road in Kennebunk said they've grown frustrated waiting for information about federal relief. About a dozen homes in that neighborhood along the Mousam River have sustained serious flood damage.

"(FEMA officials) say they're at stage one, the responding stage," Carruth said. "Well, what does that mean? If there are three stages, that's progress. If there are 15 stages, that's a problem."

Maine Emergency Management officials said the relief effort has moved from the response stage, during which officials close dangerous roads and order evacuations, to the recovery phase, when damage is assessed and aid is distributed.

Bruce Fitzgerald, spokesman for the state's emergency management agency, said residents who want to have damage evaluated by federal crews should get in touch with their local police or town offices.

"Try and be visible. . . . Make sure their local governments know the teams need to come over," Fitzgerald said.

Officials are fairly confident the county will qualify for disaster aid to help rebuild washed-out roads and other public property. They did not yet have a grasp on whether homeowners will qualify for federal assistance.

Fitzgerald said the state Department of Transportation reported initial damages totaling around $3 million. That figure - if accurate - is more than twice the roughly $1.4 million in damages needed to qualify for federal aid.

"I am 99 percent sure we will meet the public assistance" threshold, he said.

Money for homeowners, or "Individual Assistance" funding, would require evidence flooding damaged at least 160 homes, officials said.

Red Cross teams spent the day evaluating flooded homes, but officials did not have an estimate of the total number of damaged residences.

Volunteer Allen Crabtree said flooded homes on Intervale Road in Kennebunk will likely require "extensive" repairs to carpeting, drywall, wiring and appliances.

"Anything below window level was pretty much saturated," Crabtree said.

Staff Writer Elbert Aull can be contacted at 282-8227 or at:

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