Governor To Seek Major Disaster Declaration For Ice Storm

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Governor Brad Henry says he'll ask the president for a major federal disaster declaration for counties hit by last weekend's ice storm.<br/><br/>The declaration would allow

Thursday, January 18th 2007, 2:07 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Governor Brad Henry says he'll ask the president for a major federal disaster declaration for counties hit by last weekend's ice storm.

The declaration would allow residents and communities to be reimbursed for uninsured damages resulting from the storm. Residents would also be eligible for grants for temporary housing and home repairs and local governments could be reimbursed for damages to roads, water systems or other infrastructure.

More than 77,000 utility customers statewide remain without power, nearly a week after the storm first moved into Oklahoma.

The governor declared a statewide state of emergency last Friday and President Bush issued an emergency presidential disaster declaration on Sunday.

Henry says he'll work with the state's congressional delegation to make sure the request for a major disaster declaration is considered as soon as possible by the Bush administration.