EVERETT — The Washington state congressional delegation urged President Donald Trump on Thursday to reconsider the denial of the state’s request for a disaster declaration for November’s bomb cyclone.
The state’s request detailed more than $34 million in damages across the state caused by the November storm. In Snohomish County alone, damages totaled at least $18.6 million. In December, the Snohomish County Public Utility District estimated $15 million to $16 million in losses. The storm caused an estimated $2 million in damage to the city of Everett.
In January, the delegation urged former President Joe Biden to grant the disaster declaration request before Trump took office.
A major disaster declaration provides federal assistance programs for public infrastructure and individuals, as well as funds for emergency and permanent work, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Disaster declarations are not symbolic, they are critical lifelines for communities in crisis,” the delegation wrote in a letter Thursday night. “Washington state’s first responders, local governments, and emergency management professionals have done everything within their means to begin recovery, but the scale of the damage requires federal support through the Public Assistance Program and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Anything less unnecessarily places our communities, infrastructure and long-term stability at an unacceptable risk.”
The letter is signed by all 12 members of the Washington delegation, including Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and Reps. Suzan DelBene and Rick Larsen.
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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