Gov. Rick Scott requested a presidential disaster declaration from the federal government late Tuesday afternoon, to help facilitate in the procurement of aid five Florida counties affected by recent flooding in the Tampa Bay area.
In a letter addressed to President Barack Obama – with whose administration the governor has had a testy relationship – Scott outlined the adverse weather conditions that preceded the flooding that took place earlier this month and detailed, river by river, the severe increase in water levels created torrential downpours which hammered the state between August 1 and August 9.
“Central Florida communities and businesses are working hard to recover from recent flooding, and we must do everything we can to support them,” said Scott in an announcement Tuesday. “It is our hope that President Obama will move quickly to issue a major disaster declaration in order to free up federal resources in support of recovery and rebuilding efforts.”
In the letter, Scott also outlined the relief efforts put forth by state officials, including the dispatching of assistance teams from the Department of Emergency Services, Civil Air Patrol overflights, and the implementation of special storm water pumps across the region.
Scott’s letter bolsters the efforts that Florida officials have already made at the federal level.
Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, for instance, called on President Obama to issue the declaration – which would authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to go directly into the affected areas – as well.
“These constituents are suffering,” said Bilirakis in a release Tuesday. “They need help now and deserve to have their elected officials, at all levels, working together to provide immediate relief and long-term solutions that will prevent future problems.”
Scott specifically asks for assistance in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Dixie and Taylor counties, which saw tropical-depression levels of storm surges and rain levels earlier this month.
