HARTFORD, Conn. — President Joe Biden has declared that an emergency exists in Connecticut following severe flooding in large parts of the state.
On Wednesday afternoon, Biden ordered federal assistance to help the state and local communities respond to emergency conditions that were caused by heavy storms, significant flooding, landslides and mudslides that began on Sunday and are continuing, according to a release from the White House Press Office.
After declaring a State of Emergency following devastating floods that resulted from extreme rainfall, Gov. Ned Lamont asked Biden to declare a federal emergency for parts of Connecticut earlier this week.
Biden's action allows the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to steer all disaster relief efforts. The release says FEMA's efforts will aim to alleviate the hardship and suffering that the emergency has caused on the local population.
Under Title V of the Stafford Act, FEMA will also provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures to save lives and protect property, public health and safety while lessening the threat of a catastrophe, according to the release.
Lamont sought federal assistance for Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield Counties, and Biden will offer all three counties support. The White House also announced that Robert V. Fogel of FEMA has been appointed to coordinate federal recovery operations in each of the affected counties.
Lamont thanked Biden on Wednesday afternoon in a release from the Governor's Office. He said staff from the state's Department of Transportation, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, among others, have been on the ground since the storm first struck providing emergency services.
"This federal emergency declaration means that the additional equipment and crews could be mobilized to Connecticut to support our many state and local crews who have been on the ground working to repair damaged roads, bridges and dams, and also clean up waterways that have been contaminated by all kind of hazardous items from the storm," Lamont said in the release.
He continued, noting that there is still much work to do to repair and reopen the roads and ensure those who live in the area remain safe.
"We are committed to completing this task. I thank President Biden for taking these actions and providing Connecticut with these lifesaving resources," Lamont said in the Wednesday release.
Even after the emergency declaration has been approved, there are multiple federal agencies that Lamont is also requesting help from.
"This declaration is necessary in order to provide direct federal assistance to meet critical emergency protective requirements and provide temporary restorative efforts for life safety, and to provide support and assets for the incident which have overwhelmed the capability or capacity of State resources," Lamont said earlier in the week in his initial letter to the Biden administration.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is being asked to help the state with repairing dozens of bridges, dams and other infrastructure that were damaged, and the Environmental Protection Agency is being called upon to clean up and evaluate environmental damage from oil tanks, propane tanks, cars, boats and drums that went into the waterways. The Federal Highway Administration is being asked to assist with the many damaged state roads.
Many parts of Route 34 in Oxford and Monroe have been closed down, as well as Route 6 in Woodbury, due to the flooding. The Connecticut Department of Transportation and its local partners have been working around the clock to recover the damaged roads, with Route 34 as one of the top priorities to reopen soon.
“This was an extreme amount of rainfall in an incredibly short period of time that resulted in historic levels of flooding in western Connecticut,” Lamont said earlier this week. “Our state experienced two fatalities in which people were swept away from flood waters, and first responders bravely rescued and evacuated hundreds of people during and after the storm. Scores of state and local roads are washed away or compromised, dams and bridges have been affected, and oil tanks, vehicles, and other hazardous items were flooded into waterways. I appreciate President Biden and FEMA for considering this request to assist our state and municipalities with the immediate effort to protect public safety in the aftermath of this devastation."
Read Lamont's full letter here.
The Connecticut Congressional delegation also submitted a letter to Biden Tuesday, supporting Lamont's request for a federal emergency declaration.
“While the state of Connecticut and affected municipalities conducted emergency responses and initial recovery efforts, federal support is absolutely critical to full recovery,” the delegation wrote. “We therefore urge you to swiftly declare a state of emergency for the State of Connecticut, as requested on August 20, 2024, by Governor Lamont, to enable vital supplementary federal assistance.”
The full letter from the delegation can be found here.
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