Shawn J. Soper
Managing Editor
FENWICK- With Delaware beaches and coastal communities still reeling from the late January storm that walloped the mid-Atlantic with record snow falls and massive flooding and beach erosion, President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared a disaster still exists in the First State and released federal funding to mitigate the damages.
In late January, Winter Storm Jonas the mid-Atlantic region and much of the northeast with record snowfall amounts, severe flooding, high winds, heavy seas and coastal flooding. In Delaware’s neighboring beach communities just to the north of Ocean City, the storm was a classic nor’easter that ravaged the coastline, breached the dunes in many areas and destroyed sections of the boardwalks in Bethany Beach and Rehoboth.
In February, Governor Jack Markel submitted a formal request asking for a Presidential Disaster Declaration for Delaware to help mitigate the damage and expedite repairs particularly to the coastal areas in communities like Fenwick Island, Bethany and Rehoboth. The request seeks $2.5 million in federal funds, specifically for public assistance in the form of a major disaster declaration for Sussex County.
On Wednesday, Obama, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced federal disaster aid has been made available to Delaware to supplement state and local recovery efforts. The president’s actions make funding available to the state and local governments and certain private non-profit agencies on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storm. Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide. Last month, FEMA made similar disaster declarations for Maryland and Virginia, which were also walloped by Winter Storm Jonas.