Gov. John Lynch met with officials from Gilsum, Sullivan and Keene Monday morning as he toured damaged roads in Cheshire County with state and federal officials.

Flash floods caused by heavy rain in a May 29 thunderstorm caused the damage, which municipal and state officials say could cost millions to repair.

“The damage is — certainly to the families who were affected as well as to the local communities like Gilsum — is very significant and very severe and I want to make sure from a state perspective we are giving them all of the resources they need in order to recover just as early as they can,” Lynch said while visiting Mack Road in Gilsum.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials were visiting the same sites Monday, working to tally the damage to determine whether the road repairs qualify for FEMA funds.

The flood waters also caused damage to the foundation of Gordon McFarland's Mack Road home.

Lynch took a look at the house and told McFarland to contact the state insurance company if he had any trouble with his home insurance claim. He even gave McFarland his cell phone number if he had any further trouble.

In October 2005, Lynch was faced with a similar flooding disaster in Cheshire County. Seven people were killed. Alstead alone had 36 homes destroyed by flooding and 50 homes damaged.

“He got right on things,” McFarland said of Lynch in 2005. “He's always kind of stepped up when something like this happens. I remember that about him. I always appreciated that about him.”

Isolated in Gilsum

In Gilsum, Lynch also went to White Brook Road, an unpaved dirt road, on which two homes are still isolated. In one section, all but a narrow sliver of the road has fallen into the brook that runs alongside it.

One resident is pregnant and another is dealing with an illness, officials said.

After walking across the narrow ledge to reach the residents, Lynch met with Kim Rossey and his wife at their White Brook Road home.

Rossey is currently undergoing chemotherapy at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, he told Lynch. His next treatment is not until next week; he was able to make a trip to Keene this week by walking down his washed out-road and past the damage. There, a friend picked him up and gave him a ride.

Lynch offered assistance with dealing with his home insurance company and grocery shopping, referring Rossey to New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Christopher M. Pope for that assistance. Lynch also gave his cell phone number to Rossey.

“We're pretty well stocked up ... I'm pretty well set,” Rossey said. “I will say I love New Hampshire and even though I will say it's a challenge sometimes, I wouldn't trade it for any other thing. We have a lot of good people, and a lot of good people helping us. Great town officials.”

Sullivan and Keene

Lynch went to the worst-hit state road, Centre Street. A three-quarter-mile strip of Centre Street remains closed, but is accessible now for residents. Rebuilding the road could cost close to $1 million, state officials say.

Sullivan Road Agent Randy Smith said he estimates the cost to repair town roads — including Cross, Bowlder, Valley and Gilsum roads — to be around $450,000.

Providing Department of Transportation engineering resources and moving the FEMA assessment along are vital to communities right now, Lynch said.

“For some of the small towns, the financial cost is quite significant. They may have highway budgets and public work budgets of a couple hundred thousand dollars for a year, and they're facing over a million dollars in damages. So it's really important that we get FEMA here and get FEMA to finish their estimates as soon as possible.”

Monday afternoon, Smith said: “We've just met with FEMA representatives this afternoon. They think there is a good chance we'd be at the threshold.”

At Belvedere Road in Keene, city Public Works Director Kurt D. Blomquist said his current estimate for all city infrastructure damage ranges between $1.5 and $2 million. Belvedere Road alone could cost $800,000 to $900,000 to rebuild, he said.

About 30 homes were isolated initially when the flood waters destroyed the road last week, he said. The road remains closed, but residents now have access to and from their homes on an unpaved, often rocky surface.

FEMA funds

Frank Evola, FEMA public assistance group supervisor, said to qualify for FEMA funds, state damage must surpass $1.77 million. The county damage must surpass $240,000. It appears only Cheshire County was affected; FEMA officials plan to spend the next week assessing the costs.

The state alone is estimating $1.8 to $2 million in damages.

“I'm certainly hopeful the county and the state will fall into the thresholds,” Pope said, adding that FEMA also takes into account state emergency funds allotted.

“Our team comes in, we work with our state partners, look at all the damage and come up with a dollar amount,' Evola said.

Cloudy skies and rain showers are in store for New Hampshire and Maine for the next few days said James Brown, a National Weather Service Hydro Meteorological Technician in Gray, Maine.

“The rest of the week we're certainly not going to see the kind of rain that we've seen,” Brown said. “Showering, not the heavy rains that we've seen over the past couple of days and then finally we get to see some improvement on Thursday.”

Email mpierce@newstote.com