Central ND News

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), along with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and a bipartisan group of senators, have penned a letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, urging the agency to reconsider its current methodology for providing federal assistance in the aftermath of severe snowstorms.

In the letter, the senators emphasized the need for FEMA to update its criteria for offering reimbursement for snow-related activities following snowstorms that do not meet the current NWS records. They proposed a collaborative effort between FEMA and the NWS to develop a more comprehensive and inclusive system for evaluating the severity of snowstorms that warrant federal response.

The senators stated, "With extreme storm systems becoming increasingly common, FEMA must be prepared with formulae that help ensure an appropriate disaster response." They highlighted the importance of updating FEMA's methodology in light of the escalating intensity and impact of snowstorms across the United States in recent years.

Expressing their readiness to support FEMA in this endeavor, the senators concluded, "Our states' residents have seen firsthand how difficult it is to dig out after a severe snowstorm, and FEMA's assistance is critical to ensuring that communities impacted by severe weather can recover and rebuild to be more prepared for the next storm."

The letter calls for a multi-pronged, statistically driven approach to determine the eligibility for federal reimbursement for snow-related activities following severe snowstorms, with the aim of enabling FEMA to better fulfill its mission of assisting communities before, during, and after disasters.