FEMA tours storm damaged cities & towns

Bridgeport, Conn. (WTNH) - Federal officials are taking a first hand look at the damage to parts of Fairfield County smacked hard by a storm two weeks ago.

Members of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were in Bridgeport for the first of several stops throughout Fairfield County.

The storm the weekend of March 13th-14th was blamed for three deaths, destroyed property and left nearly 100,000 customers without electricity for days.

The group toured Bridgeport's Seaside Park, where the seawall was damaged and the concrete walkway was left broken and unsafe.

"This isn't for a city to make money off of, Mayor Bill Finch, D-Bridgeport, said. "This is for a city to put things back the way they were and keep the public safe."

FEMA investigators are also looking at damage to people's homes and cars.

"Along with FEMA is the SBA, Small Business Administration, so those folks are looking at individual homes and individual businesses in those communities as requested by the local folks and the state," Suzanne Novak from FEMA said.

The FEMA team will also visit Westport, Norwalk and Stratford today. It's unclear when FEMA would make its recommendation about whether this damage qualifies for federal dollars.