Senator Cortese Requests Santa Clara County Be Included in Presidential Disaster Declaration
Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) is requesting that Santa Clara County be included in the Presidential Major Disaster Declaration issued in response to the deadly storms that have impacted our region. Santa Clara County was not included in a list of counties that, under the Presidential Declaration, would allow residents and businesses to access federal aid.
In a letter to President Joe Biden sent today, and co-signed by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin who represents both Santa Clara County and Santa Cruz County, the Senator states the following:
“This disaster has threatened lives, displaced rural residents as well as our unhoused residents, and has caused substantial damage to our parks, roads and infrastructure in Santa Clara County. It is for this reason that the largest city in our county, and the 10th largest city in the nation, San Jose, issued a local emergency declaration and evacuation order alongside our statewide emergency declaration. It is estimated that damages across our county well exceed the federal minimums needed to qualify for a presidential declaration that would allow us to access FEMA assistance.
Our residents and business are in desperate need of assistance so that they can access temporary housing options, recover costs from damages caused by this disaster, and so that they can mitigate future hazards.
I implore you to include Santa Clara County to the list of counties that qualify for federal aid so that we can rebuild and recover from this disaster.”
For more information, contact Tara Sreekrishnan, Office of Senator Dave Cortese at 408 480 7833 or tara.sreekrishnan@sen.ca.gov.