City of Gloucester Conducting Early Damage Assessments Following Winter Storm Riley
GLOUCESTER — Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken and Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Eric Smith announce that the City of Gloucester has begun collecting reports on coastal storm damage caused by Winter Storm Riley earlier this month.
The City of Gloucester is providing a new survey and reporting tool on the city’s website at www.Gloucester-MA.gov/storm. Residents and business owners are encouraged to submit their own property damage assessments and can do so online by clicking here.
The Primary Damage Assessment (PDA) will be conducted in cooperation with the Federal and Massachusetts Emergency Management Agencies (FEMA/MEMA). Residents, business owners and homeowners will have the opportunity to complete a survey of property damage caused by the nor’easter on March 2-4.
“Primary Damage Assessments must account for all losses in our community including public property and individual or private property, such as homes and businesses,” Fire Chief/EMD Smith said. “Having a comprehensive inventory of storm damage will be critical for the city as we look toward securing Federal Disaster Aid to alleviate some of the cost.”
Winter Storm Riley caused extreme winds, rain, storm surges and flooding in Gloucester, and city officials are working aggressively to calculate the extent of the damage to both public and privately owned properties.
Anyone whose property was impacted by the storm should fill out a PDA form online by clicking here or download and print a paper version.
Paper forms may also be obtained at City Hall, and should be submitted directly to the Mayor’s office either in person or by mailing it to:
City Hall
Office of the Mayor
Attention: Storm
9 Dale Ave.
Gloucester, MA 01930
“We are grateful for the dedication that Gloucester’s emergency teams continue to provide in offering assistance for on-going coastal recovery efforts,” said Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken. “Winter Storm Riley created damage for businesses and citizens alike so this self-reporting tool will help us centralize damage assessments needed for state and federal disaster aid programs. We are asking everyone in Gloucester to help report this information online using an easy survey system but hard-copies will be available, too.”
Even after completing the PDA, residents and business owners should plan on maintaining extensive records of any damage to their property.
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