President Declares Jan. 11-12 Record Snowstorm a Major Disaster

President Obama has declared a major disaster in most of Connecticut’s counties after the record-breaking storms dumped several inches of snow across the state on Jan. 11 to 12,  according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The total accumulation from the back-to-back storms in Canton was approximately 21 inches.

Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, New London, and Tolland counties are elegible for assistance for the fallout from a continuous 48-hour period. Assistance will be provided for the effects of the storms of a period of 72 hours for New Haven County, according to FEMA.

The president's declaration did not include Middlesex and Windham counties. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Friday that he has told the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security to prepare an appeal on behalf of those two counties.

“The major disaster declaration that President Obama declared will help our cities and towns with the gaping holes in their budgets left by a brutal, relentless winter,” Malloy said in a press release. “I’d like to thank President Obama and FEMA for their quick action in this regard. However, Middlesex and Windham Counties were not spared this winter, and I’m already moving forward with an appeal to this ruling on behalf of those counties.”

In eligible counties, the federal aid is available "to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the snowstorm," according to FEMA.

The storm cost Canton a total of $38,870. Costs included materials such as salt, use of equipment, overtime and more. The Federal Emergency Management Agency could refund municipalities up to 75 percent of the disaster cleanup cost for the storm.

“The additional funding will be appreciated,” said Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner. 

Skinner did not have exact figures Friday, but said the town will go over its salt and overtime budgets for storm removal this Winter. 

“This additional funding will offset some of those overruns,” he said. 

The president’s decision follows a Feb. 22 request from Malloy to Obama, asking the president to declare a federal disaster for the January storm.