FEMA Grants Helping to Raise Flood-Prone R.I. Homes

The owners of eight flood-prone properties near Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly, R.I., are using federal grant funds to raise their homes and businesses high enough to minimize any future damage.

The Westerly Sun reports that eight property owners are benefiting from a nearly $904,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The funds were made available after Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011.

The grants are aimed at helping owners raise their structures at least 1 foot above base flood elevation, which is the standard under current building codes. Property owners will pay 25 percent of the cost of the work.

Town officials hope that homes and businesses are raised on 52 Misquamicut parcels designated by the National Flood Insurance Program as repetitive loss or severe repetitive loss properties.

Topics Flood Homeowners