LEOMINSTER, Mass. – One year after a major storm caused devastating damage to the city of Leominster, Mayor Dean Mazzarella said the work to recover continues every day and he’s thankful the devastation wasn’t worse.
What You Need To Know
- A storm on September 11, 2023 caused major flooding and damage to parts of Massachusetts, including Leominster
- The city estimates $30-$35 million in damage to public infrastructure occurred from the flooding
- Massachusetts was denied funds from FEMA, but residents and businesses have been able to apply for, and many have received, FEMA money
- Mayor Dean Mazzarella estimates recovery efforts will continue for at least another year-and-a-half
“The biggest thing I continue to say is that it was no loss of life or serious injury," Mazzarella said. "And that was remarkable for anybody that’s seen even a couple of seconds of the devastation and the damage.”
Mazzarella said the overwhelming amount of rain and flooding caused damage across the entire city of Leominster.
“There were calls coming in. It was walls falling. It was flooding. It was people's basements and businesses and houses getting washed out," Mazzarella recalled. "It was like taking a 10,000 piece puzzle and just throw it on the desk. Every single piece was a little bit different, and it affected the whole city.”
The mayor said they prioritized getting people back into their homes with functioning utilities and the city quickly opened back up. One year later, there’s still temporary solutions like roadway patches and supporting walls, which need to be addressed.
Although the city was denied funding from FEMA earlier this year, it's applying for grants through state and Federal Highway Aid.
“We've got maybe another $15 million worth of projects that we need the funding for," Mazzarella said. "Absent the fact that FEMA didn't give us the public infrastructure funding, this is the way we have to sort of go about it. But the governor has been great, and she’s helped us. We've got another $3 million that we can use to fix projects and hopefully the other 12 that will come from the federal government.”
Mazzarella said as the work to rebuild continues for at least another year and a half, he’s proud of how Leominster responded and thanks the city’s team, as well as state and other local responders, who provided mutual aid, saying it’s all about being prepared.
“Today, you better be situated to help each other out," Mazzarella said. "And so we want to make sure that we help other communities and we're the first ones on the phone call to find out if anybody needs any help, because we know what it's like.”
Mazzarella said the city is planning to honor what he called the “unsung heroes” of last year’s storm with a ceremony sometime this November.