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Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other state officials took an 80-minute helicopter tour over central and western Connecticut Monday morning, viewing damage wrought by Tropical Storm Irene from 500 to 1,500 feet up and taking pictures to document pending requests for federal disaster relief funds.
The Connecticut officials took the flight on an Army National Guard YH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with Gary Stanley, an official from the Federal Emergency Management agency, as part of their effort to obtain potentially millions of dollar in aid for individuals, businesses and government agencies and the state and municipal levels.
"All of the paperwork for a [federal disaster] declaration is in the process of being presented," Malloy told reporters in a press conference shortly after noon at the state's emergency operations center in the State Armory in Hartford. He said the administration has a "task force" working on the declaration, adding that he planned to talk Monday afternoon first to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and then to officials from the state's 169 cities and towns in a conference call, more than 90 of which had already provided "initial damage assessments."
"We're gathering all the information necessary to build, I think, a good case," he said.
He said he had no dollar estimate yet of the damage to the state.
All in all, Malloy said, "we have come through this storm in relatively good shape."
"Clearly this could have been worse, but it was pretty bad out there," he said. "We were fortunate to have a minimal loss of life, and relatively few injuries. That said, we grieve for the loss of life we have experienced. ... as well as for those who have suffered property loss."
