SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the White House has added the counties of Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara to the Presidential Major Disaster Declaration issued to support the state’s storm response and recovery efforts, joining the counties of Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz initially approved for assistance this weekend.Last week, President Biden also approved the Governor’s request for a Presidential Emergency Declaration to bolster state, local and tribal government storm response efforts.

“I’m deeply thankful for the incredible support of our federal partners throughout this emergency as we’ve worked around the clock to save lives and help Californians whose lives have been turned upside down by these storms,” said Governor Newsom. “As communities across the state turn towards recovery, we will continue to work closely with our federal and local partners to support them.”

The Presidential Major Disaster Declaration makes residents in impacted counties who had damage or losses from the storms eligible to apply for federal disaster assistance. It also includes public assistance to help state, tribal and local governments with ongoing emergency response and recovery costs and hazard mitigation. Additional impacted counties may be included as state, local and federal officials continue to assess the scope of damage.

Governor Newsom in recent weeks has met with evacuated residents in Merced County, assisted storm preparedness work in Santa Barbara County and surveyed storm damage in Santa Cruz County and Sacramento County with state and local officials. The Governor has proclaimed a state of emergency statewide and issued an executive order to further assist the emergency response and support impacted communities across the state.