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Hartford residents may be eligible for flood assistance grants after year of wild weather

Mayor Bronin and other officials announced grants of up to $7,500 to help homeowners and small businesses pay for flood damage and reduce risks of future flooding.

HARTFORD, Conn. — The weather is officially cold and most homeowners have turned their attention from flood concerns to snow removal. However, before turning the page to a new season completely, residents in the capital city may be able to benefit from a new program that could put money back in their pockets.

Between Fred, Henri and Ida, it’s been a year of wild weather.

RELATED: Hartford residents call for solution to Blue Hills neighborhood flooding issues

If you are a resident or business owner and storms caused you flooding damage, you may be eligible for assistance.

"This year we experienced what used to be classified as a 200-year storm, a 25-year storm and a nearly 100-year storm over the course of about three weeks," Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said.

Connecticut is feeling the effects of climate change, and the summer of 2021 was the third wettest on record. It's a statistic that doesn’t surprise Hartford resident Rosa Bocachica.

"He woke me up. 'Mom, mom, the basement is floating!'," she recalled to FOX61.

Bocachica shared a video she took in August as Tropical Storm Henri was raging outside. It made it's presence felt inside her Ambrose Street home, as the basement filled up with water.

"A lot of stuff we’ve thrown away Christmas stuff and personal stuff that we’ve thrown away because that water stinks," she added.

But, now there’s good news for people like Rosa.

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Mayor Bronin and other city officials announced grants of up to $7,500 to help homeowners and small business owners not only pay for flood damage, but also reduce the risk of future flooding.

"For example if you’ve got window wells that may be vulnerable to flooding and there is work that might make that house less vulnerable, then that will be considered," Bronin explained.

The announcement was made in Hartford’s Blue Hills neighborhood which is notorious for flooding. Two years prior, it was the scene of some dramatic water rescues.

"There have been significant serious flooding issues in a number of neighborhoods," the mayor added.

Since 2017, Hartford has invested about $12.5 million in upgrades to the city’s flood control infrastructure like the automation of pumping stations, drain and dike repairs, restoring drainage ditches and repairing the flood walls.

"That is a large complex integrated flood control system and we’ve made some progress," Bronin said.

The Connecticut River flood control system in Hartford is made up of about 6.5 miles of dikes and about a mile of flood wall. Believe it or not, we are technically still in the Atlantic Hurricane Season. It’s officially ends Tuesday, November 30.

If you want to apply for one of these grants, you must have experienced damage during 2021 hurricane season. Call Shawana Bowens at 860-757-9030 or click here.

RELATED: Hartford residents fed up living in flood-prone neighborhood

Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

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