President signs disaster declaration to help pay for flood damage

President Barack Obama issued a major disaster declaration for the State of Colorado Thursday.

Thedeclarationtriggers the release of Federal funds to help our Colorado communities recover from the severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that happened between May 4 and June 16, 2015.

The declarationincludes 11 counties: Baca, Elbert, El Paso, Fremont, Logan, Morgan, Pueblo, Saguache, Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma.

The State has been awarded the Public Assistance and the Hazard Mitigation grant programs.

The Public Assistance program is for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.

The Hazard Mitigation program provides assistance for actions taken to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards. All counties in Colorado are eligible to apply for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

“We are appreciative to the President for authorizing the majordisasterdeclarationto the State of Colorado. It will bring much needed financial assistance to our community hit by the devastating spring storms.” said Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) Director Kevin Klein. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with FEMA during this recovery process. Our staff is committed to our continued work with local jurisdictions to complete additional damage assessments in order to add the communities to thisdisasterdeclaration.”

Thisdeclarationallows additional designations to be made at a later date.

The City of Colorado Springs said it was also awarded federal disaster assistance to repair infrastructure damaged by the storms.