Arkansas lawmakers, alongside Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, have appealed to the federal government following a denied request for disaster recovery aid. The appeal comes after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) rejected the state’s application for a major disaster declaration to aid recovery from severe storms that occurred from March 14-15.
Governor Sanders, on April 18, sent a letter appealing the initial decision by FEMA and requested an additional 30 days to present further information.
Following this move, U.S. Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton, with U.S. Representative Rick Crawford, dispatched a letter on April 21 to President Donald Trump, urging him to reconsider the denial. In their message, they stated, “As Governor Sanders noted in her request, these storms caused catastrophic damage across the state, resulting in disastrous amounts of debris, widespread destruction to homes and businesses, the deaths of three Arkansans, and injuries to many more.”
The appeals emphasize that preliminary damage assessments for nine impacted counties, including Baxter, Clay, Greene, and others, amount to approximately $8.8 million.
