FEMA rejects Healey’s plea for disaster relief in last year's catastrophic flooding

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied Gov. Maura Healey’s request for disaster relief in the catastrophic storms and flooding that caused severe damage to parts of Massachusetts last September. In a letter to Healey Sunday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the damage from the storm — which washed away roads and threatened the security of a Leominster dam — “was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the state, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies.” Healey previously declared a state of emergency on...