Declare Dec. 2014 California floods a disaster and activate FEMA

On December 3-12, 2014, a major storm system called the "Pineapple Express" hit the west coast of the United States, affecting mostly California, but also Oregon and Washington.

In California alone, seven counties declared a "state of emergency," with millions of dollars initially reported in damages to both private and public structures. This amount, most likely, will be exponentially higher when the additional cost of much needed new mitigation structures (building flood collection systems, drainage systems, reassessment of flood plain/risk, etc.) is considered to prevent/mitigate future flood damage.

It seems clear to us that this financial burden will overwhelm the finances of the state of California and, as a result, Governor Jerry Brown should immediately upgrade his declaration of a "state of emergency" to a formal "declaration of a major disaster" in order to activate the financial assistance from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).

It is our understanding that only through this "declaration of major disaster" can both the state and its residents be able to get the much needed, immediate, financial relief to begin the rebuilding process. Further, there is a deadline, purportedly 30 days from the "incident occurrence" (need citation) for the Governor to make this declaration, and we want to make sure that this deadline is met.