SHAHEEN LENDS SUPPORT TO LYNCH’S REQUEST FOR MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATION

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today sent a letter to President Barack Obama in support of Governor John Lynch’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of New Hampshire following the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. The disaster declaration would help provide assistance to communities in all ten counties in New Hampshire to help recover from this disaster.

The full text of Shaheen’s letter is below:

November 15, 2012

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing in support of New Hampshire Governor John Lynch’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of New Hampshire following the damage Hurricane Sandy caused in the state from October 26 through November 1.  The Governor’s request covers all ten counties in New Hampshire.

Hurricane Sandy had significant and widespread impacts across New Hampshire, forcing the closure of numerous state and local roads due to flooding.  Wind-related damage also impacted transportation systems in New Hampshire and resulted in 210,000 households losing power, the fourth largest outage in the state’s history.  Preliminary estimates indicate that Hurricane Sandy caused damage in excess of $3.6 million.  While Governor Lynch and New Hampshire state agencies responded quickly to minimize the storm’s impact on citizens, federal assistance is required to quickly meet the needs of the communities affected by this disaster.

I urge you to grant a Major Disaster Declaration for New Hampshire as soon as possible in order to ensure that our state’s businesses, towns and citizens have access to the resources and assistance they need to fully recover from this emergency.  Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Shaheen

United States Senator