NEWS RELEASE

Office of Governor Brad Henry
State of Oklahoma
State Capitol – Oklahoma City OK 73105
405-521-2342

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 9/29/2008

Oklahoma City – Gov. Brad Henry has asked for another round of federal assistance in flood-damaged northern Oklahoma, this time to help state and local governments with costs associated with damaged roads, bridges and other infrastructure. The governor has already requested individual assistance for several counties in the area.

In today’s request, Gov. Henry asked federal authorities to declare 10 Oklahoma counties disaster areas for purposes of public assistance. If approved, the designation would deliver federal funding to assist cities, towns and counties with infrastructure repairs and costs associated with their response to flooding earlier this month.

The requested counties are: Alfalfa, Cimarron, Dewey, Ellis, Grant, Harper, Kay, Major, Woods and Woodward. Those counties incurred an estimated $8.8 million in infrastructure damage and response costs as a result of the September floods. Other counties can be added to the request as additional damages are identified.

“High waters have damaged roads, bridges and other public structures in northern Oklahoma,” said Gov. Henry. “It will cost millions of dollars to repair the infrastructure, and state and local governments will need federal assistance to complete that process in a timely manner.”

On September 19, Gov. Henry asked for individual assistance in five flood-damaged counties in northern Oklahoma: Alfalfa, Grant, Kay, Major and Woods. The state is still awaiting a response on that request.

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