Murphy Grills FEMA on Slow Response to Connecticut's April Nor'easter

Press Release

Today, Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) aggressively questioned Mr. R. David Paulison, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing about the agency's slow response to Connecticut in the aftermath of the mid-April storm that left significant damage behind.

"When that spring storm hit Connecticut, small towns didn't have the resources available to them to clean up the mess and quickly address property damage issues. FEMA dragged its feet in declaring a disaster," said Murphy.

After the storm, which began over the weekend of April 14 and 15, and continued into Monday, April 16, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that she would ask FEMA to declare portions of Connecticut a major disaster for businesses, homeowners, and municipalities. FEMA did not declare a disaster until May 11 for municipalities only; the agency did not extend that declaration for businesses and homeowners until June 14 - two months after the storm.

In response to Murphy's questioning about the delay in declaring a disaster in Connecticut, Mr. Paulison agreed that it took too long in this case, noting that it should take less than two weeks to make the determination.

On May 1, Murphy joined the rest of the Connecticut delegation in sending a letter to FEMA asking for the declaration of a major disaster in Connecticut as a result of this storm.

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