On Monday, as soon as FEMA finished its preliminary damage assessment on losses suffered by individuals and families, Gov. Lynch formally requested a major disaster declaration to cover individual assistance. Today, Gov. Lynch asked that his request be amended to include assistance for communities. President Bush has not yet issued a disaster declaration.

"FEMA's preliminary damage assessment found that our communities suffered major and costly damage, as did our families," Gov. Lynch said. "I continue to urge President Bush to issue a disaster declaration as soon as possible so our communities and families can get federal assistance as they begin to rebuild their roads, homes and lives."

Gov. Lynch requested the disaster declaration for six counties Belknap, Carroll, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford. As damage assessments continue, New Hampshire may seek to add additional counties to the disaster declaration.

FEMA offers two primary types of assistance, public assistance - which helps the state and communities cover emergency operations, debris removal and repair costs; and individual assistance - which provides some emergency assistance to individuals, such as for temporary housing, and will cover some - but not usually all - costs of the damage.

FEMA had to complete the preliminary damage assessment before the President will issue a major disaster declaration. FEMA teams, working with state officials, completed the preliminary damage assessment for individual assistance (damage to homes) on Monday. The teams completed their assessment for public, or community, assistance this morning.

To qualify for public assistance, there has to be statewide damage of $1.15 per capita, and damage in individual counties of $2.97 per capita. During the preliminary damage assessment, FEMA generally just assesses damages until they are satisfied the threshold is met. Already, FEMA estimates that the damage per capita is at least $3.90 for the entire state.

The state's preliminary assessments of local and state infrastructure have found at least $14 million in damage, an estimate that is likely to increase. During the course of the flooding more than 600 state and local road segments were closed, three dams were breached, there were controlled breaches of four dams, and two dams failed.

The earlier preliminary damage assessment found more than 5,000 homes affected by the flooding, of which 25 homes were declared destroyed and 235 suffered major damage. In addition, the Small Business Administration conducted preliminary damage assessments in the counties of Belknap, Carroll, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, and Strafford.

In addition, there are now 115 businesses reporting damages in excess of $4 million.

A copy of Gov. Lynch's letter to President Bush is below.

# # #

May 25, 2006

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Through: Kenneth Horak, Acting Regional Director
DHS/FEMA, Region I
99 High Street, 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02110-2132

Dear Mr. President:

On Monday, May 22, 2006, I requested a major disaster declaration for individual assistance for the victims of recent flooding in New Hampshire. Under the provisions of Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5206 (Stafford Act), and implemented by 44 CFR § 206.36, I respectfully request that my major disaster request of May 22 be amended to include public assistance. This request is for Belknap, Carroll, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford counties. As assessments continue, additional counties may be added to this request. I am also requesting that the Hazard Mitigation Program be designated statewide.

Severe rain, beginning on May 12, caused extensive flooding and damage in many New Hampshire communities. On May 15, I requested that FEMA conduct a preliminary damage assessment of the affected areas. FEMA began its preliminary assessment for Public Assistance on Tuesday, May 23, and completed it this morning. See attached Enclosure A for a spreadsheet identifying the extent of damages by county.

I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of New Hampshire and the affected local governments and that supplemental Federal assistance is necessary. The incident caused extensive damage to New Hampshire citizens, businesses and communities, and has created an immediate health and safety threat.

I request that you expedite the declaration of a Federal Disaster area so that the public and individual assistance programs will be available as soon as possible to meet the essential needs of our communities, residents and businesses.

In response to the situation, I took appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Operations Plan on May 12, 2006 in accordance with Section 401 of the Stafford Act. As a result of the rain and flooding, on May 14, 2006, I declared a State of Emergency in New Hampshire, placing the full resources of the State at the disposal of the Bureau of Emergency Management to respond effectively to this disaster.

State of New Hampshire experienced record rainfall amounts beginning on May 12, 2006. Preliminary National Weather Service estimates indicate that this weather pattern may exceed a 100-year event. The impact to residents and the business community has been extensive. A number of rivers and streams exceeded flood stage levels, forcing many residents to evacuate and businesses to close. Many schools and daycare centers were closed at the height of the flooding event, and some remained closed for up to one week.

The State of New Hampshire has an approved standard Hazard Mitigation Plan, dated October 24, 2004. The Plan has identified flooding as the highest-risk hazard and has prioritized projects to lessen the affects of flooding statewide. The State participates in the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and the Pre-disaster Mitigation (PDM) program. In addition, local Hazard Mitigation plans identify flooding as a severe hazard and also prioritize projects to minimize the affects of flooding.

The following actions have already been taken at the State and local levels to alleviate the conditions of this disaster:

* Upon activation of the State's Emergency Operations Plan, I instructed the Director of the Bureau of Emergency Management to staff the State Emergency Operations Center as necessary on May 12, 2006. The Director activated Emergency Support Functions as necessary to respond to the flooding event. The Emergency Operations Center remained opened on a 24-hour basis until 1700 hours on May 20, 2006.

* I activated the National Guard and placed units on standby as needed for deployment to affected counties on Sunday, May 14, 2006. There were a total of 572 National Guard personnel deployed to Carroll, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford counties to provide emergency assistance. Those activities included assistance in evacuation, security patrols, sandbagging, security checkpoints, and transportation of essential equipment to the disaster areas.

* The state's Dam Bureau was activated and reported to the State Emergency Operations Center, ESF-5, Information & Planning. This was a 24-hour operation to provide information on dam conditions and river flows. This activity was invaluable in providing guidance for protective actions at the local level.

* Even as the rains continued, Department of Transportation road crews were out repairing the extensive damage to hundreds of roads, and providing critical technical support to local public works crews.

* The American Red Cross (ARC), Health and Human Services and other volunteer agencies were activated on Sunday, May 14, 2006. To date, they have provided assistance to families throughout the six affected counties. At the height of the flooding, the American Red Cross opened 35 shelters. Additionally, the ARC provided food and other immediate assistance to emergency first responders and displaced families. This assistance included mental health support, home visits, and outreach support.

The State impact narrative provides a more detailed picture as to the event and response of the State and local governments.

I certify that for this major disaster, the State and local governments will assume all applicable non-Federal share of costs required by the Stafford Act.

In accordance with 44 CFR Section 206.208, the State of New Hampshire agrees it will, with respect to direct Federal assistance:

1) Provide without cost to the United States all lands, easements and rights-of-ways necessary to accomplish the approved work;

2) Hold and save the United States free from damages due to the requested work, and shall indemnify the Federal Government against any claims arising from such work;

3) Provide reimbursement to FEMA for the non-Federal share of the cost of such work in accordance with the provisions of the FEMA-State Agreement; and

4) Assist the performing Federal agency in all support and local jurisdictional matters.

In addition, I anticipate the need for debris removal, which poses an immediate threat to lives, public health, and safety.

Pursuant to Sections 403 and 407 of the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5170b & 5173, the State agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the United States of America for any claims arising from the removal of debris or wreckage for this disaster. The State agrees that debris removal from public and private property will not occur until the landowner signs an unconditional authorization for the removal of debris.

I have designated Michael J. Poirier as the State Coordinating Officer for this request. He will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in damage assessments and may provide further information or justification on my behalf.

Sincerely,

John H. Lynch
Governor

Overview

The State of New Hampshire suffered severe damage due to heavy rains that caused widespread flooding and flash flooding beginning May 12, 2006. The flooding resulted in evacuations, power outages, stream and river erosion, and extensive damage to state and local road infrastructure, recreational facilities and trails. In addition, there were a number of dams that were breached and suffered minor to moderate damage. In a six county area there were a number of primary homes that were destroyed or suffered major damage due to the flooding and flash flooding.

State Summary

New Hampshire has a population of approximately 1.235 million year-round residents. The State is bordered to the north by Canada, to the west by Vermont, to the east by Maine and to the south by Massachusetts.

The State capital is Concord. New Hampshire's Governor is elected to a two-year term. The Governor works with a five-member Executive Council, elected from geographic districts. The Council's job is to approve state contracts and the Governor's appointments.

New Hampshire's Legislature is made up of a 400-member House and a 24-member Senate. State representatives and senators are paid $100 per year and generally meet from January through June. They approve a biennial state budget by July 1 of the first year of the two-year election cycle.

There are two hundred and thirty four (234) communities in New Hampshire with different forms of local government. There are 10 counties in New Hampshire, each providing judicial, penal and limited social services to communities.

Current Situation

New Hampshire began experiencing rain precipitation on May 12, 2006. Based upon the National Weather Service forecasts and the issuance of a flood watch for most of New Hampshire, the Governor directed the activation of the State's Emergency Operations Plan. The Emergency Operations Center was staffed to monitor the weather event. Upon receiving notification of numerous flooding and flash flooding events from communities on the evening of May 13, and damages caused from such events, the Director of the Bureau of Emergency Management activated appropriate Emergency Support Functions in order to respond to the weather event. Additionally, the Governor declared a statewide State of Emergency effective at 1315 hours on May 14, 2006 and to remain in effect until the emergency conditions have ended.

The State Emergency Operations Center operated on a 24-hour schedule through May 20, 2006. All Emergency Support Functions of the Emergency Operations Plan, except Fire Fighting, Hazardous Materials, Food and Water, and Animal Health, were activated, most for the duration of the response time. Led by the Governor, state Agencies and other support agencies that provided support were: Administrative Services, Environmental Services, Health and Human Services, Resources and Economic Development, Safety, Emergency Management, State Police, Fire Marshal's Office, Transportation, Fish and Game, New Hampshire National Guard, American Red Cross, Volunteer NH, Office of Information Technology, E-911 Mapping, and the Public Utilities Commission.

Weather

Commencing on May 12, 2006, portions of New Hampshire, particularly central and south/southeastern sections of the state, received record rainfall that resulted in severe and catastrophic flooding in many communities.

The following is a brief overview of that event. On the afternoon of May 12, National Weather Service-Taunton, MA and NWS-Gray, ME issued Flood Potential Statements/Flood Watches for rivers and streams in their respective counties in New Hampshire. This watch status was upgraded to a warning for the State of New Hampshire during the day of May 13, 2006 and continued through the early morning hours of May 18, 2006, when it reverted to a flood watch.

Average annual precipitation for New Hampshire is approximately 41 inches. Recorded rainfall totals from May 13 through May 15, 2006 are: Portsmouth 12.37 inches, Concord 8.78, Rochester 10.75, Franklin 7.44, Milford 7.89, Weare 11.43, Manchester 11.05, offstown 10.99, and Nashua 6.86.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a number of flood stage warnings for the Merrimack, Nashua, Piscataquag, Warner, and the Smith rivers during this event.

State Infrastructure

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has been coordinating state road activities from the NH Emergency Operations Center since May 13, 2006. Rains began in NH on May 12, 2006 and the impact of the high floodwaters is still affecting roads. Major state roads have been flooded/closed/washed-out. There have been 2 large box culvert failures and moderate damage to 58 State road segments. Three roads remain closed due to damages. DOT is also working with local communities to conduct bridge/culvert damage assessments in the affected areas.

Portions of State and Federal roads that were/are closed due to washouts, bridge damage, and/or culvert failures include Interstate 95, US Routes 1 and 4, and NH State Routes 11, 121, 126, 28, 3A, 132, 111A, 108, 11C, 27, 122, 150, 31, 153, 1A, 9, 123, and 114.

Local Infrastructure

Local public works departments continue to repair flood damage to municipal roads, bridges, culverts, parks, and facilities. Belknap, Carroll, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, and Strafford counties experienced the most extensive damage to local infrastructure. Numerous local roads in the affected counties were either washed out or closed during the event due to high water. Flooding and road damages accounted for the closing of 238 schools and day care facilities for a number of days during the incident period. There were in excess of 600 local roads closed.

Preliminary Damage Assessment

Public Assistance Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) was initiated on May 23 and completed May 25, 2006. Preliminary estimates indicate that Belknap, Carroll, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, and Strafford counties exceeded the county thresholds. Belknap is at $3.70 per capita; Carroll $3.35; Hillsborough $3.94; Merrimack $7.38; Rockingham $4.36; and Strafford County at $4.31. In order to expedite the PDA process not all communities in the listed counties were assessed. It is expected that the State and county per capita will be substantially higher than what is currently reported. With the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) verified assessment, the State threshold is expected to exceed $3.90 per capita. Current State and local assessment, as of May 24, 2006, is in excess of $14 million for infrastructure damages.

A greater impact is shown on Enclosure B-2, Capability Analysis County/Towns. This analysis clearly shows very high per capita damage in many communities within the affected counties. For example, Goffstown (Hillsborough County) shows per capita damage of $43.56;, Loudon (Merrimack County) shows per capita damage of $102.71;, Milton (Strafford County) shows $41.93 per capita damage; , Newmarket (Rockingham County) shows $36.56 per capita damage; Brookfield (Carroll County) shows $48.21 per capita damage; and and Barnstead (Belknap County) shows$26.28 per capita damage. This is significant since there is no county assistance for local infrastructure repair. Without federal assistance, local property taxpayers would pay these costs.
Enclosure B to a Major Disaster Request clearly indicates that nearly 70 percent of the verified damages were Category C, road infrastructure repair. However, Category A, Debris Removal, and Category B, Protective Measures, costs are expected to be extensive, but were not collected because of the time constraints of this PDA.

Dam Infrastructure

Beginning May 13, 2006, the Department of Environmental Services, Dam Bureau, initiated emergency protocols from the State Emergency Operations Center. This consisted of alerting dam owners and staff of potential problems, monitoring river gauge forecasting, and emergency dam inspections during the event period by staff engineers.
During this event there were five breaches of dams, four controlled breaches, and one dam with sinkholes. These dam issues not only caused increased flooding but also forced evacuations downstream from the impacted areas.

Additionally, the staff coordinated with the Army Corps of Engineers regarding concerns with the IPC Upper and Lower Dams in Bristol. These two dams were in danger of catastrophic failures and emergency controlled breaches were performed to prevent failures.

Utility Infrastructure

Electric utilities responded to widely scattered power outages due to flooded transformers and/or other electrical components. There were identified issues with sewer treatment plants in Somersworth and Nashua.

Impact on Individuals

NH Bureau of Emergency Management (BEM) surveyed each affected community by phone to ascertain the number of homes impacted. An Individual Assistance PDA Team, consisting of FEMA, Bureau of Emergency Management, and the Small Business Association staff conducted home inspections in Belknap, Carroll, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford counties. The teams determined that there were twenty-five (25) homes destroyed, two hundred thirty-five (235) suffered major damage, four thousand eight hundred and ninety-six (4896) suffered minor damage, and two hundred and one (201) homes were inaccessible or lost utility service.

The initial flood watch was issued on Friday, May 12, 2006. By Monday, May 15, 2006, 238 schools and day care facilities in New Hampshire had cancelled attendance. Statewide flooding accounted for the closing of more than 650 State and local roads.

The American Red Cross (ARC) coordinated activities from May 13 through May 19, 2006 at the State Emergency Operations Center. During the incident there were 47 shelters open, 35 of them being ARC shelters, serving 335 people. The ARC and the Salvation Army provided over 7200 meals to victims and emergency workers. The ARC continues to provide assistance in the affected areas to these individuals and first responders. The ARC has opened service centers to register individuals and to provide services as needed. They will continue to conduct assessments throughout the affected areas.

Volunteer NH! and the Bureau of Emergency Management are coordinating with the Community Action Programs (CAP) to assist affected citizens with donated funds and/or supplies. In addition, four recovery sites are to be opened to assist the flood victims. These sites will be staffed by the CAPs, ARC, Bureau of Emergency Management, and other volunteer agencies such as the United Way and Faith Based organizations.

Impact on Businesses

The Small Business Administration (SBA) conducted preliminary damage assessments in the counties of Belknap, Carroll, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, and Strafford. To date there are over 115 businesses reporting damages in excess of $4.0 million. SBA is continuing the assessment and will make a determination as to eligibility.

Summary

The flooding that occurred in New Hampshire beginning on May 12, 2006 and continuing was the most severe disaster the state has suffered in more than a half century. New Hampshire has a strong tradition of self-reliance and neighbor helping neighbor. This was demonstrated throughout the affected areas by individuals helping individuals and communities helping communities. The ARC, Salvation Army and other volunteer organizations, as well as local communities, assisted in the immediate needs of individuals. These needs included sheltering, food donations, and emergency repairs to their homes. There were approximately 5,000 homes affected by the flooding, 235 of these homes suffered major damages and an additional 25 homes were declared destroyed.

Damage to the local and State infrastructure is extensive. More than 58 State road segments sustained moderate damage, and there were two large box culvert failures. Three State roads closed due to damages. Locally, more than 600 road segments closed due to flooding and damages during the response phase of this disaster. Many communities continue with the emergency work needed to provide for safe passage and have begun permanent repair. The estimated per capita cost for the local repair is extremely high, as indicated.