Melrose Residents Get Additional Month to Apply For Federal Flood Assistance

Melrose residents and business owners have an additional month as of today to file for federal reimbursement and assistance programs related to property damage and loss caused by flooding in March.

Two months ago, President Barack Obama declared portions of the state a disaster area due to the flooding that began on March 12 and, in Melrose, led to the evacuation of the Steele House, a senior housing complex on Nason Drive, and Melrose Towers Condominiums on Melrose Street. That declaration availed homeowners, renters and businesses in Middlesex County — including Melrose —  and six other counties in Massachusetts of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) programs.

The deadline to file for assistance was originally today, Friday, May 28. However, Mike Lindstrom, Mayor Rob Dolan's aide and community liaison, told Melrose Patch on Tuesday this week that the deadline has been extended until Monday, June 28.

"It's great," Lindstrom said. "It's good for us on the city side and it gives residents more time if they weren't able to (file by the original deadline)."

FEMA spokesman Omar Fraser told Melrose Patch on Tuesday that the 30-day deadline extension is due "to consistent flow of new registrations throughout last month."

So far, FEMA has awarded $142,103 in total to 176 Melrose residents and businesses, Fraser said.

Lindstrom added that the number of Melrose residents and businesses seeking federal aid is "a fraction" of the number who sought federal aid after the Mother's Day floods of 2006, which devastated the city and forced the evacuation of some Melrose residents by boat. Despite the evacuation of the Steele House and Melrose Towers Condominiums, city officials have touted the flood mitigation projects completed in the past few years, which cost millions of dollars and officials say prevented March's flooding from matching the severity of flooding in 2006.

In addition to private aid, Lindstrom said that FEMA has approved roughly $500,000 on the municipal side in flood-related reimbursements.

"That's for all the labor costs incurred, overtime and road damage or damage to vehicles or anything like that," he said. "There was some damage to City Hall and some other buildings."

Despite the deadline extension, Fraser provided a FEMA press release that urged residents and business owners not to wait to file for federal aid. Melrosians can apply for aid by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or 800-462-7585 (TTY) for people with speech or hearing disabilities from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. — multilingual operators are available — or visiting www.DisasterAssistance.gov.

The process begins with a 15-20 minutes registration interview. Applicants should be prepared with a Social Security number; a telephone number where he or she can be reached; the address of the damaged property; current mailing address; a brief description of disaster-related damages and losses; insurance information; and direct deposit information to help speed delivery of funds. After registering, a FEMA-contracted inspector will make an appointment to visit and survey the damage.