Received via email:

Dear Friend:

Late December and early January brought record rain and snow to California. Sadly, 28 people lost their lives, and thousands more still suffer the consequences of the storm.

I wrote to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger pledging my assistance in gaining federal assistance should the Governor ask for an emergency declaration. Under both State and Federal law, damage assessments are necessary to tell whether the scope of damage triggers the federal damage assistance.

I invite you to visit a feature on my Senate website that provides valuable links on ways to prepare for more rain, including a United States Geological Survey site that allows you to monitor streamflows while they happen. You can find this feature at http://boxer.senate.gov/flood.cfm

Most of us have seen the incredible film footage of our public safety heroes and family members as they have waded into swollen streams to save victims, flown helicopters into rough terrain, and in hundreds of other ways risked their lives to save ours. I hope you will join me in saying a big thank you to these heroes.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Previous BarbaraCares! emails here and here.