Jun 17, 2008 9:37 pm US/Central
Gov. Requests Federal Disaster Aid For SE Minn.
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
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Floodwaters from the Cedar River and Turtle and Dobbins creeks covered numerous intersections in downtown Austin on Thursday and swamped yards and basements in several neighborhoods. (File).
CBS
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has asked President Bush for a federal disaster declaration for four counties hit hard by flooding in southeastern Minnesota.
Pawlenty had already declared a state of emergency in Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston and Mower counties due to flooding caused by two waves of heavy rains earlier this month.
The preliminary damage estimate for public infrastructure in those four counties is about $8.3 million.
Pawlenty's letter to Bush asks for federal aid for the impacted counties through a program that covers damage to public infrastructure and other governmental costs. The state reserves the right to request funding later through programs that serve individuals.
U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Norm Coleman sent a joint letter asking Bush to quickly approve Pawlenty's request and allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to begin supplementing state and local recovery efforts.
Pawlenty also announced he's calling a meeting of the Minnesota Recovers Task Force on Monday to coordinate the state's recovery response.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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