Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

In September, Padilla, Feinstein, Calvert, and Lofgren led the CA Delegation in urging the Biden Administration to approve Major Disaster Declaration following Tropical Storm Hilary

CALIFORNIA —  Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) applauded the Biden Administration’s decision to declare a major disaster in California in response to the ongoing recovery efforts and impacts of Tropical Storm Hilary.

“I’m grateful that President Biden has approved our request to declare a major disaster in California to help communities in Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Riverside, and Siskiyou counties impacted by Tropical Storm Hilary continue to recover,” said Senator Padilla. “This designation will release urgently needed emergency federal funds to rebuild and help communities hit hardest by the first tropical storm to make landfall in California since 1939.”

U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and the late Dianne Feinstein, along with Representatives Ken Calvert (R-Calif.-41) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.-18), led the entire California delegation in calling on the Biden Administration to grant Governor Gavin Newsom’s request for a major disaster declaration in response to the ongoing impacts of Tropical Storm Hilary. For example, the storm caused an estimated more than $126 million in damage in Riverside County. Rainfall rates approached a 50-year storm for the Coachella Valley areas and in excess of a 1,000-year event in some mountain canyon areas.

In August, Senators Padilla and Feinstein called on Senate leadership to include $310 million in the upcoming emergency supplemental bill to repair infrastructure needed to treat raw sewage spilling across the border from Mexico following Tropical Storm Hilary. Padilla also visited the Los Angeles Emergency Operations Center in the immediate aftermath of the storm to receive a briefing on damage assessments, improve preparedness, and to thank first responders and emergency personnel for their around the clock work to keep Angelenos safe.

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