While state-operated emergency shelters are also open in San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties, Santa Cruz had the highest census count in their three shelters, with 325 of the 424 total residents in emergency storm shelters across the state.
While the state has invested more than $60 million in disaster response and relief across multiple counties, Gov. Gavin Newsom requested the presidential disaster declaration, the highest level of federal assistance the state can request, on March 28 in an effort to expand emergency housing assistance, food aid and medical services.
If approved, the declaration would apply to Santa Cruz and Monterey counties along the Central Coast as well as Calavera, Kern, Los Angeles, Mariposa, San Benito, Tulare and Tuolumne counties.
State and U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are also assessing storm-related damage in other counties to determine if other counties could be added to the disaster declaration request.
President Joe Biden has already approved two other emergency declarations for the storms that have battered the West Coast over the last three months, authorizing federal relief assistance as many California counties recover from floods, downed trees and landslides.
The California Department of Social Services is also working with county officials and local community organizations to distribute essentials like food, water, diapers and formula to residents who have been affected by the recent storms.
