Biden Amends Alaska Disaster Declaration After Major Storm, Increases Aid - White House

Biden Amends Alaska Disaster Declaration After Major Storm, Increases Aid - White House

US President Joe Biden amended a disaster declaration linked to a major storm that hit the state of Alaska earlier this month in order to increase the amount of available federal aid, the White House said on Thursday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th September, 2022) US President Joe Biden amended a disaster declaration linked to a major storm that hit the state of Alaska earlier this month in order to increase the amount of available Federal aid, the White House said on Thursday.

"Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. made additional disaster assistance available to the State of Alaska by authorizing an increase in the level of federal funding for emergency protective measures undertaken in the State of Alaska as a result of a severe storm, flooding, and landslides during the period of September 15 to September 20, 2022," the White House said in a statement.

The initial disaster declaration issued on September 23 made federal funding available at 75% of total eligible costs, the statement said. The updated declaration increases the federal share for emergency protective measures to 100% of total eligible costs for the first 30 days of the incident period, according to the statement.

Coastal communities in Alaska were hit by the remnant of a typhoon earlier this month, which resulted in flooding and high-wind damage to homes and other essential infrastructure.

The updated disaster declaration comes as the federal government also begins to respond to the impacts of Hurricane Ian in Florida, which has left almost 2.6 million people in the state without electricity as of Thursday morning, according to the PowerOutage.us web portal.