Rep. Ruiz, other inland representatives call for federal aid after Tropical Storm Hilary

California's Congressional representatives are calling on President Joe Biden to provide federal assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Hilary by making a major disaster declaration for the inland Southern California region.

The representatives are calling for Biden to make a major disaster declaration under the Stafford Act, which is enacted when the damage from a disaster exceeds the ability of state and local governments to respond and provides federal assistance for both individuals and public infrastructure, or to otherwise provide additional federal funding.

Rep. Raul Ruiz, Rep. Mark Takano, Rep. Norma Torres, and Rep. Pete Aguilar sent a letter to the president on Tuesday, calling for federal assistance "so the areas that were hardest hit by the storm can be provided with the federal resources necessary to respond to the storm’s devastating effects."

A separate letter sent by Rep. Ken Calvert and other California Republicans also called for President Joe Biden to make a major disaster declaration and provide additional resources from FEMA to local governments and municipalities. That letter was sent by Calvert, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, and Rep. David Valadao, Rep. Michelle Steel, Rep. Jay Obernolte, Rep. Mike Garcia, Rep. Kevin Kiley, and Rep. Young Kim.

The letter from Ruiz and other Democratic elected officials notes that the storm was particularly destructive in the inland counties of Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino, with wind speeds up to 50 miles per hour and over 10 inches of rain in some areas causing the flooding of homes, destruction of highways and roads, derailment of trains, and damages to small businesses.

"While our communities took swift action to prepare for the storm, many families did not have the resources to protect their homes or adequate means to recover from the devastation," states the letter.

"Our region’s infrastructure was not built to withstand these types of natural disasters. Tropical Storm Hilary has resulted in historic flooding and power outages with life-threatening consequences. We have just witnessed first-hand the effect of climate change on a region not built with hurricanes in mind."

Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency for California on Saturday, and several local municipalities have followed suit with their own local state of emergency proclamations, which is a step local governments take when the impacts of an emergency are beyond the capability of the local government to mitigate.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Rep. Ruiz, other area representatives call for federal aid post Hilary