Mayor Vincent C. Gray Officially Requests Disaster Declaration from President Obama for June 29th Storm Damage

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Shortly after he returned from his business-development mission to China last night, July 1, Mayor Vincent C. Gray signed and submitted a letter to President Obama requesting a presidential disaster declaration for the damage caused by the June 29th severe-thunderstorm event that caused extensive tree and power-line damage across the District.

“I request that you declare an emergency for the District of Columbia as a result of a severe and sudden thunderstorm resulting in citywide electrical power outages in the District of Columbia on June 29, 2012,” Mayor Gray wrote. (A copy of the letter is attached to this message.)

The Mayor’s request came after a complex of severe thunderstorms – known by the meteorological term “derecho,” which denotes a long-lived severe thunderstorm event characterized by destructive straight-line winds – struck the DC region. The high winds caused a significant percentage of the District’s homes and businesses to lose power, and extreme heat has followed in the storms’ wake. A state of emergency continues in the District as a result of the storm damage.

More than a million homes and business across the metropolitan were impacted by power outages, and downed trees and power lines caused damage to vehicles, closed streets, and required traffic-control personnel at intersections darkened by power outages. As of 6:00 pm today, the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) reported that almost 44,000 customers in the District were without power – and the utility estimates that it may be as many as five more days before full power is restored to all customers.

The declaration, if granted, will allow the District to seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for costs associated with the effects of the storm.