Trump approves California disaster declaration
President Trump on Thursday approved a federal disaster declaration for California due to flooding, landslides and other damage caused by winter storms in late January, according to the White House.
The declaration makes federal funding available to state, tribal and local governments to do emergency work and repairs related to storms that occurred from Jan. 18 to Jan. 23 in 16 counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Tuolumne and Yolo.
Gov. Jerry Brown wrote to Trump earlier this month to request federal assistance, noting that the precipitation from multiple severe winter storms had been “extremely destructive to the state, creating damage on our roadways and pushing rivers, creeks, and streams to exceed their flood stages.”
Thursday’s declaration for California is the third approved by Trump this year. The president declared an emergency over the crisis at Oroville Dam and declared a major disaster for damage caused by heavy rain in storms from Jan. 3 to Jan. 12.
The January storms contributed to at least six deaths.
“After years of the worst drought in Californa’s recorded history, this winter brought a string of storms, and, with it, a significant amount of precipitation,” Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) said in a statement Thursday.
“Ensuring those communities impacted have the resources they need to clean up, rebuild, and make infrastructure repairs is absolutely critical and I appreciate the quick response by this administration,” he said.
Twitter: @haileybranson
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
