For Immediate Release: 1/10/23
Contact:
Artie Valencia, Restore the Delta, (209) 345-5880, artie@restorethedelta.org
Stockton, Calif. – After initially being left off the list of California counties eligible for FEMA disaster funding, San Joaquin County and other counties have now been added to the list. San Joaquin County will now be eligible for FEMA Category B measures, which include flood fighting; evacuation and sheltering; medical care and transportation; use and lease of temporary power generators; elimination of threats on public or private property; construction of temporary structures; emergency repairs to prevent further damage; or extracting and clearing water, mud, and other forms of debris.
San Joaquin County added to federal storm relief after being left off Monday – Stockton Record 1/10/23
Statement by Artie Valencia, Community Organizer & Government Liaison for Restore the Delta:
We appreciate the fast work of Rep. Josh Harder to get San Joaquin County included in the FEMA disaster county list. We need help now. San Joaquin County has trees down, power out, neighborhoods flooding, and schools closed by storm damage. Stockton is one of the most vulnerable flood points in America. Being initially excluded from FEMA funding is an illustration of how Stockton and other EJ communities are too often an afterthought. We need better communication, more access to flood fighting materials/flood preparedness, better outreach about evacuation sites, warming zones, and shelters.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director, Restore the Delta:
The State of California knows where the vulnerable points in California’s flood control system are. The state knows that the Delta communities most impacted are largely an underfunded EJ community especially when compared to flood infrastructure spending in Sacramento County. The San Joaquin County should not have to make a special request to get federal FEMA flood relief.