Letter to The Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States

Letter

June 22, 2007

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On June 19, a series of thunderstorms dropped 6 to 8 inches of rain in the span of three hours near the border of Sullivan and Delaware Counties with almost no warning. The National Weather Service anticipated severe thunderstorms in the area, however the flash flooding and destruction wrought by the storms has destroyed roads, bridges and homes in the Town of Colchester, in Delaware County.

The Town of Colchester received eight inches of rain in less than two hours. This rain impacted two roads in Colchester, County Rt. 7 and town road Holliday Brook. There are miles of the roads washed out. Six miles of the town road have been completely demolished. There has been one death reported already, and authorities suspect there could be more. The storm has left residents stranded and homes destroyed. It has also destroyed critical infrastructure.

Currently the Town is working under four disaster declarations: 1565 Hurricane Ivan September, 2004; 1589 April 2, 2005; 1650 June 2006; and 1670 November 2006. In addition to those floods, the town has suffered from 2 additional floods that did not receive a FEMA declaration that the Town is economically responsible for the damage suffered. The Town is extremely overwhelmed financially by these tragic events. Early estimates indicate over $10 million in damages just for the Town of Colchester alone. Delaware County may have sustained nearly $6 million in damages.

Colchester is making an early loss projection of over $10 million and an early assessment of property damage just to Delaware County exceeds $5 million. These damage assessments only pertain to county roads, bridges and other infrastructure that was damaged or destroyed.

We understand that at the request of Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be participating in joint State/FEMA Preliminary Damage Assessments for both Individual Assistance and Public Assistance, along with locals and the SBA, in the affected areas.

The damage that the thunderstorms have brought to Delaware County and specifically the Town of Colchester is nothing short of devastating. The extraordinary nature of this occurrence and the concentrated destruction on the Town of Colchester requires a federal and state response as quickly as possible. The Town of Colchester should not be penalized for being the only area that has sustained large amounts of damage. Given the extraordinary concentrations of damages sustained by the Town, Federal assistance should be provided even if the statewide per capita or county-wide per capita damages are not met. Therefore, we urge you to waive the per capita threshold for disaster assistance and provide relief as soon as possible.

Assistance is needed in the form of debris removal, infrastructure repair, small business loans, home repair, and other disaster related aid available from FEMA. In anticipation of a request from Governor Spitzer, we urge you to issue a Major Disaster Declaration consistent with the Stafford Act as soon as possible so we can provide the assistance that so many people desperately need.

We thank you for your immediate consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact us should we be able to provide additional information.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Kirsten Gillibrand

Source