Barely a month into his governorship, Gov. Dannel Malloy plans to ask President Barack Obama for help after record-setting storms.
Malloy plans to ask for federal aid to deal with impact of the record snowstorm on Jan. 11-12 and for more federal aid to deal with damages as storm after storm hits the state.
Since Dec. 26, more than 50 inches of snow have fallen during five major storms and several other smaller ones. It is more tha a foot more than the previous record. And there has been no thaw to melt it away.
The storms have brought down buildings, collapsed roofs and done damage to houses.
“I also want to make clear that this aid is intended to begin to help meet the mounting costs associated with the historic winter weather system that has already stretched both state and local resources to and beyond the breaking point, with at least two months of winter weather still to follow,” Malloy said.
According to the National Weather Service, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have the deepest snow totals.
"Preliminary cost estimates for snow assistance in a 48-hour period for just one of these storms, which occurred on January 11-12, exceed $18 million. February and March in Connecticut are historically months with high potential for large winter storms," Malloy said.
“The Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, in collaboration with other state and local agencies, has worked to lessen the number of collapses, but the damages continue to mount, especially as additional snow and liquid precipitation accumulate,” Malloy wrote.
