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| Green Mountain Power released this photo on December 24 of debris tangled up in Charlotte power lines after the destructive wind storm that hit just before Christmas. |
As VTDigger reports, the storm caused more than $2 million in damage to Vermont towns and municipal and non-profit utilities. This comes from an assessment by Vermont Emergency Management.
Vermont Emergency Management has asked federal officials to double check their math and determine whether the storm qualifies as a major disaster.
VTDigger goes on with more details:
"To qualify for a major disaster declaration, Vermont must show at least $1.14 million in in total costs for response and public infrastructure recovery, and each individual county must demonstrate damage and recovery costs of at least $4.44 per capital to qualify."
If that storm turns out to be a major disaster, at least in the eyes of FEMA, we'd get a big bunch of federal aid. So far, the counties that might be declared disaster areas are Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle and Orleans counties. Additional counties might be added as assessments continue.
The storm caused widespread damage in the majority of states east of the Rocky Mountains. Here in Vermont, most of the damage was due to high winds. Gusts reached 71 mph in Burlington, the second highest wind gusts on record there.
Countless branches and trees succumbed to the high winds in Vermont. Many of those trees also brought down power lines. At least 75,000 Vermont customers lost electricity, some for severals days. One storm-related death was reported.
Non-profit utilities suffered a large portion of the damage. As VTDigger reports:
"Nonprofit organizations such as Washington Electric Cooperative and Vermont Electric Cooperative spend the following days restoring power to as many houses as possible in the areas they serve. The repair costs for these cooperatives were immense. For instance, Washington Electric figures it spent $1.3 million on repairs, while its annual budget for emergency storm management is just $300,000."
If a federal disaster is declared in Vermont, municipal and non-profit utilities could be reimbursed for 75 percent of restoration costs and 75 percent of the cost of debris removal, road repairs and staff overtime related to the storm.
The damage tally that could lead to the disaster declaration does not include damage to private, non-government entities. VTDigger notes that Green Mountain Power reports this storm, a heavy, wet snowstorm a week earlier caused some of the most damage in the utility's history. GMP allocates $6 million each year to handle storm recovery.
I'm not sure how well that money lasted in 2022. Other events, like wind in February and severe summer thunderstorms caused damage to GMP's system too, but not nearly as much as the December storms.
The December wind storm also caused damage to Vermont's agriculture industry. At least 56 maple producers suffered damage, mostly in Franklin, Chittenden, Addison and Rutland counties, the Rutland Herald reported.
The wind damaged or destroyed some maple trees. Also, falling branches damaged the tubes that collect maple sap.
Some hoop houses, used to grow winter crops within plastic cages, were also damaged. Some dairy and other farms reported roofs blown off barns.
Vermont is sometimes regarded as a bit of a haven from climate related calamities, but parts of the state, or the whole of the region has been declared a federal disaster area frequently in recent decades.
Excluding the Covid-19 pandemic, Vermont was included in five federal disasters since 2017, pretty much for floods or wind or the combination of the two.
FEMA is expected to begin assessing Vermont data on the storm this week. The agency probably has its hands full, as that same pre-Christmas storm caused plenty of damage in other states as well. Meanwhile, California keeps getting pummeled by storms, too.
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