The bomb cyclone that struck Washington last November left death and destruction in its wake. Normally after that sort of natural disaster, the federal government makes a disaster declaration and helps communities recover. Shockingly, the Trump administration refused.
Former Gov. Jay Inslee applied for the declaration in January. The Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected the request in April, sending a brusque letter that did not explain why. The state appealed this month.
Recovery efforts are underway even without the declaration, but it’s costly work that strains local and state budgets. The bomb cyclone caused more than $34 million in damage primarily in Western Washington. Many Puget Sound residents remember hours or days of blackouts after strong wind gusts knocked down power lines. It was the worst power outage since 2006. Falling trees and mudslides destroyed homes, businesses and other infrastructure.
Last week, Washington’s U.S. Sen. Patty Murray led the entire state congressional delegation — Democrats and Republicans alike — urging the president to reconsider. “This is precisely the kind of catastrophic event for which the federal declaration process was designed,” they wrote.
If only Inslee had sent the request sooner. The Biden administration received it with only a week remaining in the former president’s term. It’s hard to imagine that his FEMA would have rejected Washington’s plea for help.
But a week is not much time to process a complicated emergency declaration request. So it fell to President Donald Trump, who has suggested eliminating FEMA entirely and withholding disaster aid from Democratic-leaning states like Washington.
FEMA regularly declares severe winter storms as major disasters. A bomb cyclone is a type of rapidly intensifying winter storm. What it lacks in snow, it more than makes up for with wind and rain.
A disaster declaration is not just validation. It opens critical lifelines. If the Trump administration does not reconsider and approve the appeal, it risks the long-term health and safety of communities most impacted.
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