Connecticut Delegation Urges President Biden to Issue Major Disaster Declaration for Devastating Floods

[HARTFORD, CT] - Today, the Connecticut Congressional delegation wrote to President Joe Biden urging a major disaster declaration after severe flooding destroyed roads, homes, and other critical infrastructure in August.

"As the Governor's disaster declaration request makes clear, the state and affected counties can demonstrate that they meet or exceed cost threshold requirements for a disaster declaration. We therefore urge you to swiftly grant Connecticut's major disaster declaration request in order to help our state recoup losses and carry out the process of recovering," the delegation wrote.

On August 18, parts of Connecticut received up to 16 inches of rain in just a few hours. The floodwaters caused significant damage to critical infrastructure like roads, rail lines, and bridges, devastated local businesses and homes, trapped residents in their homes and forced others to evacuate, and tragically killed two people.

A major disaster declaration is necessary to provide a wide range of federal assistance programs for both individuals and public infrastructure, including funds for emergency and permanent repair work. The delegation urges President Biden to approve this declaration as quickly as possible.

On August 20, 2024, President Biden granted Connecticut a federal emergency disaster declaration following a request from Lamont and the Connecticut Congressional delegation to assist with debris removal and emergency protective measures in New Haven, Fairfield, and Litchfield Counties. Since then, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been on site documenting and assessing damage throughout the affected areas.

Full text of the letter can be found here and below:

September 9, 2024

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Biden,

We write in strong support of Governor Ned Lamont's September 9, 2024, request for a major disaster declaration under Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act after the sudden and severe flooding that occurred on August 18, 2024, in the State of Connecticut. Governor Lamont has specifically requested both Individual Assistance (IA) and Public Assistance (PA) for New Haven, Fairfield, and Litchfield Counties. The Governor is also requesting that the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program be implemented statewide. We strongly support this request and urge its expeditious approval.

On Sunday, August 18, towns around Connecticut received up to 16 inches of rain - a 1,000-year flood event in some of the harder hit areas. The flooding caused significant damage to infrastructure, including the closure of rail lines and more than 25 roadways; forced some people to evacuate from their homes while others were stranded in theirs; and devastated local businesses. Tragically, three individuals lost their lives during the floods. Thirty-eight homes across the three counties were completely destroyed, with a total of almost 2,000 homes suffering some form of damage. Initial damage assessments from the state were reported at $206 million.

On August 20, Governor Lamont sought and was granted a federal emergency declaration. Since then, teams from FEMA have been on the ground in Connecticut assessing the damage. They completed the Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) for IA on September 6. The PDA for PA began on September 9, and the estimates of the extent of the damage from local governments and state agencies make it clear that the threshold for PA will be met. As the official PA data is expected as soon as the end of the week, we urge no delay in granting Connecticut's request. As the Governor's disaster declaration request makes clear, the state and affected counties can demonstrate that they meet or exceed cost threshold requirements for a disaster declaration.

We therefore urge you to swiftly grant Connecticut's major disaster declaration request in order to help our state recoup losses and carry out the process of recovering.

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