S.C. Gov. Asks FEMA to Conduct Damage Assessment Following Charley

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has sent a letter to the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region IV Headquarters in Atlanta requesting a joint preliminary damage assessment (PDA) in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley making landfall in the state.

Last Friday, Aug. 13, the governor declared a State of Emergency in South Carolina, the first step in making the state eligible for federal funds in the event damage from the storm exceeded $5 million. In his letter, Gov. Sanford requested for FEMA to begin the joint preliminary damage assessment tomorrow earlier this week.

“I’m asking FEMA to come in and work with our state and local emergency management folks to get this done and determine if we’re in fact eligible for federal funds,” Gov. Sanford said. “We’ve got an obligation to do everything we can to promote economic development on the Grand Strand and throughout our state, and a big part of that right now includes getting local governments impacted by the storm the assistance they need.”