Storm claims hit $4M on Cape Ann

April 04--Representatives from Cape Ann's communities have submitted damage claims totaling more than $4 million to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency in the hopes of getting reimbursement for residents, business owners or the communities themselves in the wake of this winter's storms.

All remain uncertain whether there will be any money forthcoming from MEMA or its parent Federal Emergency Management Agency for the nor'easters that socked Cape Ann with storm surge flooding and high winds as recently as three weeks ago.

And those seeking damages from the Jan. 4 storm are already out of luck, according to MEMA public information coordinator Chris Besse.

Besse said the total in eligible damage claims filed by cities and towns, including Essex, from the Jan. 4 storm failed to meet the required thresholds that open the door to the FEMA disaster declarations that can bring reimbursement aid.

Essex Town Administrator Brendhan Zubricki said his town had submitted claims of more than $200,000 in damages to town property -- primarily to seawalls -- and another $370,000 in damage to six businesses. But Besse said Tuesday that totals across Essex County and the state fell short of the roughly $2.5 million and $9.5 million thresholds, respectively, in damage assessments needed to trigger a declaration. Besse also noted that private motor vehicles are not eligible for reimbursement -- ruling out any potential dollar losses that might have gotten a boost from the 73 car owners who lost their vehicles to storm surge that flooded the Gloucester High School parking lot.

A waiting game

Gloucester has submitted an estimate for $2 million in public property damage to seawalls and other infrastructure in the March 2 -- 4 storm, with extensive damage to the Newell Stadium field and other Gloucester High School facilities to be added when they're finalized, said Eric Smith, the city's fire chief who doubles as emergency management director. Plus, the city has submitted claims handed in by 37 homeowners and eight businesses totaling $677,540 -- $517,095 of it for property, furnishings and inventory that was uninsured.

"Even in our own (municipal) case, if something is covered by insurance, federal government won't fund it," Smith said. "But a lot of the (uninsured damage) is flood damage, and most insurance policies don't cover flooding."

Rockport Public Works Director Joe Parisi said his town is still gathering damage assessments from the March storms, and Besse said MEMA officials are still evaluating damage assessment they collected when they visited Gloucester and Rockport in the aftermath of the March 2-4 and 7-8 storms as well.

Manchester Town Administrator Greg Federspiel, meanwhile, said he's received claims worth close to $300,000 from private property owners and is looking at close to $500,000 in damage to town property, including to seawalls at Black Beach, off Boardman Avenue and to the Tuck's Point rotunda, among other concerns. The March 2-4 storm delivered the harshest blows to the seawall and Tuck's Point.

But Federspiel, like other local officials, is awaiting word on what may or may not trigger any reimbursement.

"We're still in a bit of a waiting game right now," he said. "I guess we all are."

Looking for answers

Besse said one complicating factor in the aid allocation process is that FEMA considers each storm a separate event. That's especially tricky in the case of last month's storms; the March 7-8 storm deposited more than a foot of snow on much of Cape Ann while bringing high winds that downed power lines and trees, while the March 2-3 storm, by comparison, was notable more for its storm surge, which tore apart the Magnolia Pier and the Good Harbor Beach footbridge.

"People think of the flooding, but we also had a lot of (private property) damage, with trees into buildings," Smith said.

Besse said he hopes MEMA can provide some answers regarding any federal declaration "within a week or two."

Once the agency finds damage claims from the March 2-4 storm surpass the federal threshold, it will then be up to Gov. Charlie Baker to submit a formal request to the federal government for a disaster declaration. The bulk of Gloucester's submitted damages are from that storm, while much of Essex's damage came during the storms of March 7-8, and damage claims are still be being accepted for that storm, Besse said.

"After all this," said Smith, "I would say our next steps should be in the mitigation side -- to build along the coast so that more of these priorities are elevated, so that this doesn't keep happening. That's what I worry about."

Ray Lamont can be reached at 978-675-2705, or [email protected].

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