N.H. House Votes to Help Flood Victims

New Hampshire resdents who lost property during last fall’s floods are a step closer to getting more help from the state.

The House has approved a plan for the state to spend $3.4 million buying flood-damaged properties in Alstead, Langdon and Walpole.

The purchase price would be each property’s assessed value before the flood, minus any other financial aid the owner received, such as insurance or federal disaster assistance.

Gov. John Lynch supports the plan and has asked the Senate to move quickly and approve it.

“The communities that need this funding deserve our best efforts to deliver on the state’s promise of assistance without delay,” he wrote in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee.

The bill also sets up a commission to determine what the state will do with the land.

The panel will be comprised of three House members, one senator, a selectboard member from each of the affected towns, and one member appointed by the governor.