Letter to the Honorable Barack Obama President of the United States - WV Delegation Calls on President to Grant Major Disaster Declaration
Letter
Dear Mr. President:
As members of West Virginia's Congressional Delegation, we are united in our support of the thousands of West Virginians who continue to suffer as a result of severe weather that affected our State between March 3, 2015 through March 14, 2015, resulting in flooding, landslides, mudslides, and severe winter storm conditions.
Many counties throughout West Virginia experienced significant damage from this winter storm, not only to transportation and utility infrastructure, but also to valuable recreational areas. This extreme weather caused major damage to many bridges, highways and other critical infrastructure in communities that are home to some of West Virginia's most vulnerable citizens -- the elderly, the disabled, and those who live on a fixed income.
To access federal disaster aid, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin made a request for a declaration of major disaster for the State of West Virginia, submitted March 24, 2015, under the provisions of Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5208 (Stafford Act). We respectfully request that you review this request expeditiously for Public Assistance for Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Clay, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, McDowell, Mingo, Monongalia, Putnam, Raleigh, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Webster, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood, and Wyoming counties; and Hazard Mitigation for the entire state expeditiously, and give it every appropriate consideration. We also ask that FEMA begin immediate discussions with the appropriate State officials in regard to Governor Tomblin's urgent appeal.
We remain so very proud of the work of our local citizens, first-responders, and brave National Guard troops who are already working to help these communities recover and rebuild, and we urge you to do everything in your power to make sure that they have the federal support they need and deserve throughout this difficult process.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
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