Gov. Gregoire�s statement on Presidential declaration of emergency

For Immediate Release: March 28, 2011

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today issued the following statement on the announcement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that federal disaster aid has been made available to King, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Skagit, Skamania and Wahkiakum counties for the January storms that caused flooding, landslides and mudslides:

�I thank President Obama and his Administration for this much needed financial assistance. Our local governments, especially our state�s rural counties, are already struggling with reduced revenues due to the national recession. This declaration ensures the financial help necessary within the federal Stafford Act rules to fully recover from these devastating storms � which caused significant flood damage to roads, bridges and buildings. While assessments are still underway, we know damages are in the millions of dollars � which only adds stress to already limited budgets.�