Extra-Trumpy MD County Got Flooded (Again) But No FEMA: They Feel SCROTUS "Turned His Back On Them"

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More than two months after the devastating flood swept through Westernport, its mark remains on the small town of about 1,800 residents. Cars inundated with water during the flood sit abandoned along Maryland Avenue, their doors and trunks left open to reveal interiors splattered with mud. One of the town’s emergency access roads is blocked by piles of gravel at both ends of the street, placed there after a resident’s truck fell into a crater under the pavement. Many residents lost their washers, dryers, water heaters and furnaces when their basements filled with water, and they can’t afford to replace the expensive appliances — especially not all at once.

Westernport town administrator Laura Freeman Legge said she estimated the town’s damages at $10 million, not including the damage to peoples’ homes and personal property. For a town with an annual budget of about $2 million, many repairs will need to be put on hold, potentially for years.

On Wednesday, the town suffered another hit. The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied a request for $15.8 million to make repairs across Allegany and Garrett counties. The decision came as a shock to local leaders, who said that even after the agency disqualified millions of dollars in damage from the request, the county and state still met thresholds to qualify for assistance. “We met the criteria,” Westernport Mayor Judy Hamilton said. “So, we’re confused, and we don’t understand why we were not given the FEMA assistance.”

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Legge, Westernport’s town administrator, said that although aid from FEMA wouldn’t go directly to residents, it would free up town and county dollars that right now must be allocated to fixing infrastructure. That leaves residents with nowhere to turn while facing expensive repairs. “Then we could use our resources to do something,” she said, “but we can’t.” Hamilton said the town has secured some funding from the state thanks to Gov. Wes Moore (D), who made just under $1.5 million available for recovery efforts. About 24 households in Allegany County also received help from a nonprofit to replace water heaters, which are especially important to replace before temperatures drop. But it’s not nearly enough.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/07/27/allegany-county-flood-recovery-fema/