Entire Bipartisan, Bicameral California Congressional Delegation Urges Biden to Grant Major Disaster Declaration for the State Amidst Severe Weather

WASHINGTON, DC –The California Congressional Delegation unanimously urged President Joe Biden to issue an expedited major disaster declaration for the State of California in response to recent winter storms beginning December 24, 2022.

"The magnitude of these weather systems has placed a severe strain on California's resources and its ability to swiftly protect public health and safety," the Members wrote. "Although the state has invested more than $738 million in flood protection programs in the last two years alone, it has been and continues to be increasingly difficult for the state and local governments to obtain the necessary resources to respond to the devastation caused by these storms.

The Members continued, "The size and scope of these storms require additional coordination and a wider range of long-term federal recovery programs. Therefore, we urge you to approve California's request for a major disaster declaration."

California has experienced multiple severe recent weather events, including as many as 10 strong atmospheric rivers and a bomb cyclone system, which have caused significant and widespread flooding, mudslides, erosion, power outages, property losses, road closures, and evacuations for thousands of Californians across the state. In addition to extensive physical damages, these weather events have caused 18 fatalities to date. The Governor's letter covers 49 counties – of which 41 are currently under a federal emergency declaration – and requests individual, public, and hazard mitigation assistance. Future amendments for additional counties are possible as assessment continues on the full toll of these storms. The State Climatologist forecasts that these atmospheric river events will continue through at least January 18, 2023.

Both U.S. Senators representing the state – Sens. Alex Padilla and Diane Feinstein – signed the letter, as did all 52 Members representing the state in the House of Representatives: Reps. Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Ami Bera (CA-06), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Ken Calvert (CA-41), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Judy Chu (CA- 28), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), John Duarte (CA-13), Anna Eshoo (CA-16), John Garamendi (CA-08), Mike Garcia (CA-27), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Josh Harder (CA-09), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Darrell Issa (CA-48), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Kevin Kiley (CA-03), Young Kim (CA-40), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Mike Levin (CA-49), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Doris Matsui (CA-07), Kevin McCarthy (CA-20), Tom McClintock (CA-05), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Grace Napolitano (CA-31), Jay Obernolte (CA-23), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Scott Peters (CA-50), Katie Porter (CA-47), Raul Ruiz (CA-25), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Adam Schiff (CA-30), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Michelle Steel (CA-45), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Mark Takano (CA-39), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Norma Torres (CA-35), David Valadao (CA-22), Juan Vargas (CA-52), and Maxine Waters (CA-43).

The Governor's expedited major disaster declaration request can be downloaded here.

The full letter can be downloaded here and is copied below:

Dear President Biden:

As members of the California Congressional Delegation, we write to request that you grant the State of California's request for a major disaster declaration in response to recent winter storms, flooding, and mudslides. This severe weather and the resulting disasters began on December 24, 2022, and are currently ongoing. The intensity and damage of these storms require federal assistance, coordination, and action to supplement state and local efforts.

These recent weather events, which include as many as ten strong atmospheric rivers and a bomb cyclone system, have caused significant and widespread flooding, mudslides, erosion, sinkholes, power outages, and evacuations for thousands of Californians across the state. In addition to extensive physical damages, these weather events have claimed the lives of multiple individuals. At one point, more than 34 million Californians, nearly 90% of the state's population, were under a flood watch and over 400,000 individuals had no electricity, threatening their livelihood and quality of life. On January 9, 2023, the state experienced its highest level of evacuation orders, impacting nearly 100,000 individuals, with an additional 56,000 individuals under evacuation orders.

As detailed in California's request, these consecutive severe storms have resulted in significant flooding and other impacts in 49 counties: Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kings, Inyo, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, and Yuba Counties.

The magnitude of these weather systems has placed a severe strain on California's resources and its ability to swiftly protect public health and safety. Although the state has invested more than $738 million in flood protection programs in the last two years alone, it has been and continues to be increasingly difficult for the state and local governments to obtain the necessary resources to respond to the devastation caused by these storms.

The size and scope of these storms require additional coordination and a wider range of long-term federal recovery programs. Therefore, we urge you to approve California's request for an expedited major disaster declaration and expeditiously provide all categories of public assistance, individual assistance, and direct federal assistance for all counties set forth in the Governor's request, as well as hazard mitigation statewide.

Sincerely,

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