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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 25, 2009 No. 09-065 PRESIDENT APPROVES FEDERAL DISASTER DECLARATIONS FOR LATE WINTER, EARLY SPRING STORMS President Barack Obama has approved Governor Mark Parkinson's request for federal assistance to defray costs associated with the response and recovery activities during the severe winter storms that struck the state between March 26-29, 2009. The governor was also informed that the president approved a federal declaration for Public Assistance for damages resulting from severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds and tornadoes that occurred April 25 through May 16, 2009. "On behalf of the State of Kansas, I want to express my gratitude to the President for approving these emergency resources," said Parkinson. "After the storms hit, we had roads, bridges and power lines that needed significant repairs. Without this assistance, the local governments impacted by the storms would never have gotten back on track." The first request for federal declaration was for actions taken by state and local emergency response agencies to the severe storms that blanketed large areas of the state with as much as 30 inches of snow, accompanied by strong winds, sleet, ice and drifts of up to 20 feet. The storms resulted in widespread power outages, road closures and some building collapses. Then-governor Kathleen Sebelius signed a State of Disaster Emergency declaration for 62 counties. Preliminary Damage Assessments place damages in excess of $12.8 million in the affected counties. The counties hardest hit were Butler, which sustained more than $5 million in damages; Cowley, $2.2 million; and Greenwood, $1.9 million. Parkinson requested federal Public Assistance (all categories of work including emergency protective measures, debris removal and infrastructure repair) for 14 counties: Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Coffey, Cowley, Dickinson, Elk, Grant, Greenwood, Harvey, Lyon, Marion, Sumner and Woodson Counties. He also requested emergency assistance in 19 counties for snow removal under the Public Assistance program (emergency protective measures). Those counties are Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Grant, Haskell, Kearney, Kingman, Kiowa, McPherson, Meade, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Seward, Stafford, Stanton and Stevens Counties. In addition, he requested funding for the Hazard Mitigation Program statewide. The second request was made June 11 for damages sustained in 28 counties (Anderson, Barber, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Cherokee, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Finney, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Labette, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Montgomery, Morris, Neosho, Reno, Rice, Sumner, Wabaunsee and Wilson). This request also included the Hazard Mitigation Program statewide. Preliminary Damage Assessments for the flooding was in excess of $13.1 million. Neither request included Individual Assistance to citizens because damages to uninsured properties did not meet federal damage thresholds. Public Assistance refers to money that is used to restore public infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and utilities, and for associated recovery costs, such as debris removal from public roads. The Hazard Mitigation Program funds projects that are designed to eliminate or reduce the impact of disasters to a community, such as flood control measures. -30- Follow the Kansas Adjutant General’s Department on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KSAdjutantGen |
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