HARRISBURG – Governor Tom Corbett today asked the federal government to provide disaster aid that will help governments and certain non-profit organizations in five counties recover from Hurricane Irene.  Monroe, Pike and Wayne are not on the initial list, but could be added later, following a thorough assessment.

In his letter to the White House, Governor Corbett asserted that the magnitude of the damage is beyond the response capabilities of the state and affected local governments and that supplementary federal assistance is necessary.

“I traveled with the Pennsylvania National Guard and the Pennsylvania Emergency

Management Agency Director Glenn Cannon to many of the affected areas, and it was evident early on that the severe damage from Irene affected many of our roads and infrastructure,” said Corbett.

If approved, state government and local governments and certain non-profit organizations in certain counties would be eligible to apply for federal assistance to pay 75 percent of the approved cost of debris removal, emergency services related to the disaster and repairing or replacing damaged public facilities, such as roads, buildings and utilities.

A preliminary damage assessment was conducted prior to the governor submitting the letter requesting federal disaster relief. The counties of Chester, Northampton, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming collectively exceeded more than $32 million in damage based on assessments as of Friday afternoon. This figure clearly makes Pennsylvania eligible for public assistance from the federal government.

More information on disaster assistance in Pennsylvania is available at www.pema.state.pa.us ; click on “Disaster Assistance and Updates” in the left-hand column.