Photo: DAVID MCNEW/AFP/Getty Images
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration to California and ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in areas affected by severe winter storms, flooding, mudslides, and mudslides that began on December 27, 2022, and are ongoing.
The president’s action is a step beyond the declaration of a state of emergency and also makes federal funds available to affected people in Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties, according to the statement released by the White House.
The President may declare a major disaster for any natural or man-made event determined to has caused such serious damage that are beyond the combined capabilities of state and local governments to respond.
A major disaster declaration triggers a wide range of federal assistance programs for people and public infrastructure.
According to the White House statement, this help “may include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover losses from uninsured property” as well as help for business owners.
At this time, the damages caused by the heavy rains in California continue to be evaluated and The government does not rule out the designation of federal aid in other areas once the evaluations are complete.
For the past two weeks, several storms caused by atmospheric rivers have caused the death of at least 19 people and extensive material damage due to floods, landslides and drains that have damaged highways in the state.
the last of a series of powerful storm fronts driven by atmospheric rivers hit California again on Saturday and the state continues to grapple with heavy rain, flooding, strong surf and mudslides that caused widespread damage and forced thousands to evacuate.
Sunday morning there might be a short break before another wave of heavy precipitation begins to fall in California from Sunday to Mondayalthough it is expected to be lighter than what the state has seen through Saturday.
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