Letter to the Honorable W. Craig Fugate, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency - Regarding a Request that the President Declare an Expedited Major Disaster for the State of North Carolina
Letter
Dear Administrator Fugate,
As United States Senators from North Carolina, we write in support of Governor Pat McCrory's request that the President declare an expedited Major Disaster for the State of North Carolina under Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act for events occurring since October 4, 2016, and which are still occurring. The expedited Major Disaster Declaration is for both individual assistance and public assistance, including direct federal assistance for the following North Carolina counties: Alamance, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Sampson, Scotland, Stokes, Surry, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wilson and Yadkin.
We urge the President to approve this request as soon as possible to assist the state and these counties continued operations to protect life and property, and in the near future begin the recovery process. As the Governor noted in his request, due to the "unusual severity and magnitude" of the damage from Hurricane Matthew, the request meets the requirements of 44 C.F.R 206.36(d) for the expedited processing of the request.
This disaster is still ongoing and has forced nearly 5,000 residents into shelters, necessitated over 1,000 swift water rescues, and left nearly 800,000 North Carolinians without power. We would like to thank you for FEMA's efforts prior to and during this disaster, including the President's October 7, 2016 Emergency Declaration for the state. We again respectfully ask that the President make the requested Major Disaster declaration, consistent with the intended purposes of FEMA and the federal Stafford Act.
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