Massachusetts To Get $120M In Disaster Aid After Record Snowfall Last Winter
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker says the state is expected to receive an estimated $120 million in federal disaster assistance following last winter's record snowfall.
That's the most ever awarded to Massachusetts as the result of a natural disaster. Half that money — about $60 million — will help reimburse cities and towns for storm-related costs, including coastal flooding. About $24 million has already been distributed, including $2.5 million to Boston.
Baker made the announcement at a news conference at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency bunker in Framingham on Wednesday afternoon.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency granted the state a disaster declaration for the Jan. 26-28 blizzard.
"Working closely with our federal and local partners, I'm proud that Massachusetts is securing this critical budgetary relief as a result of last winter's damages, especially for our impacted cities and towns," Baker said in a statement. "The Commonwealth's largest public assistance disaster in history will ensure resources are available to make important repairs as we focus on our ongoing disaster preparedness and the upcoming winter season."
Baker originally asked for an emergency declaration for a 28-day period.
The blizzard was the first of a series of unrelenting snowstorms that dropped more than nine feet of snow in Boston.
Baker called the blizzard the largest public assistance disaster in the state's history, involving more than 650 applicants for aid.
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