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Frenchboro, a small island community
off the coast of Maine, suffered
damages after sever rain storms in 2009.
FEMA Public Assistance project
specialists were sent to
determine if the town would be eligible for federal funds.
Hal Ridgeway: Today we came out to Frenchboro.
We had to catch the ferry at about 8 o'clock this morning.
I represent the public assistance part of FEMA.
We do visit lots of areas not on the normal trails or roads available.
I've been to several other islands. But this is the furthest island I've been out on.
What I look at any damaged area I
like to get as close to and make as
close an examination of the area as I can.
So we go through some effort
to be sure that we do make a thorough survey of the area.
Dana Danielli is a new employee of
FEMA, and we're giving him a
little training program,in coming out with us today.
When he was at the top he
threw me down his tape so we could measure
the dimensions of the slide and the area.
He will never make the Olympics,
but we were able to make contact
with the tape and we did our measurements as required.
Rob Sturart: Frenchboro is one of 14 islands, in the State
of Maine called "outer islands". that still
have year round populations.
Anything that is done here is significantly
impacted by the fact that we are 10 miles from
the nearest harbor on the mainland.
And the ferry runs only 3 days a week.
Only one of those days are trucks and equipment allowed.
This road is a vital connection.
If this was impassable for any length of time...
Anyone living on the west side of the harbor,
would be unable to get to the ferry terminal.
Bob Roxby: At the top of the hill here, the first
landslide came very close to taking the road out with it.
Water undermined this bank, and a lot of soil slid into the harbor.
It needs to be stabalized or it will take
out the road here, and prevent access to an
important commercial facility on the island which is...
the gas dock and the place where the lobsterman sell their lobsters.
Ridgeway: They will be doing not only the
repair and but also some hazard mitigation work, along with it to
hopefully prevent this from happening again down in that area.
For more information, visit www.fema.gov