Two years after Tropical Storm Irene tore through Vermont, the state’s congressional delegation released a tally of the federal dollars that followed in its wake. The federal government has chipped in over half a billion dollars, according to the delegation’s calculations.
Irene took six lives, left thousands homeless and destroyed hundreds of miles of roads and other public infrastructure on Aug. 27 and 28, 2011.
More than half of the $565 million comes from FEMA grants, which total $313.5 million. The funds have either been spent or pledged.
Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., released the chart below Friday, along with a joint statement: “In the two years since one of the worst natural disasters in our history, we have continued to work with Gov. Shumlin and other state and local leaders to make certain that we receive all of the federal resources Vermont needs and deserves to recover and rebuild.”
