Severe Weather Northeast

A powerful December storm delivered widespread power outages and historic flooding to the Kennebec River valley in central Maine. The deadline for eligible residents to seek federal help recovering from the storm is April 1. Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press file

AUGUSTA — Disaster recovery centers across central Maine, opened in five locations following the destructive Dec. 18 storm, are now wrapping up operations as the April 1 deadline to register for assistance approaches.

The centers in Kennebec, Androscoggin, Franklin, Oxford and Somerset counties were set up to help eligible residents seeking information and help from state and federal agencies as they recover from the storm that struck days before Christmas, bringing widespread power outages and severe flooding.

The help available includes temporary housing assistance, lodging expense help, home repair or replacement, repair of damage to essential vehicles, moving and storage assistance, some costs not covered by insurance and other necessary expenses.

The Kennebec County center, relocated from Manchester to Farmingdale at the beginning of March, was expected to end operations at the Farmingdale Fire Department on Wednesday and reopen at the Manchester Fire Department on Friday. It will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Sundays, through April 1.

The disaster recovery center at the Lewiston Armory is scheduled to close permanently at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Centers in Skowhegan and at the Roberts Learning Center at the University of Maine at Farmington campus were scheduled to close permanently at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Residents in those five counties can still apply for assistance before the April 1 deadline by calling FEMA at 800-621-3362, downloading the FEMA app or visiting disasterassistance.gov.

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