California Governor Gavin Newsom is asking Congress for nearly $40 billion in disaster funding to help Los Angeles recover and rebuild areas scorched by last month's devastating wildfires, the Washington Post reported on Friday citing a letter.
"It's going to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to rebuild from the devastating fires in LA," Newsom said in a post on social media platform X that tagged the report.
"I'm asking Congress to have the back of the American people and provide disaster funding to help Californians recover and rebuild as soon as possible," he said, opens new tab, confirming the letter first reported by the Washington Post.
The Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles and Altadena on the eastern flank of the metropolis were the sites of the worst of the January blazes. At least 29 people died in the fires that damaged or destroyed more than 16,000 structures.
"The total impact on California's economy will take years to fully quantify," Newsom wrote in the letter to congressional leaders according to the newspaper report.
Newsom also said in the letter that California may request more funds in the future, but that the dollars requested "will directly support these communities in both the immediate and long-term recovery work needed to rebuild lives and properties."
The biggest part of the funding request includes $16.8 billion to cover fire response costs, debris removal, and the repair of roads, bridges, public buildings and utilities, according to the report.
Newsom also asked for an additional $9.9 billion to help rebuild housing and infrastructure, the report said.
In a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, the California Governor urged him to support federal disaster relief for his state.
Private forecaster AccuWeather projects damage and economic losses from the wildfires at more than $250 billion, which would make them the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 4th of September, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory issued after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the country's northeastern region on Friday (12 December), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The JMA had earlier put the earthquake's preliminary magnitude at 6.7.
Iran is preparing to host a multilateral regional meeting next week in a bid to mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The United States issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela on Thursday, imposing curbs on three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro's wife, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington ramps up pressure on Caracas.
The resignation of Bulgaria's government on Thursday (11 December) puts an end to an increasingly unpopular coalition but is likely to usher in a period of prolonged political instability on the eve of the Black Sea nation's entry into the euro zone.
An extratropical cyclone has caused widespread disruption across Brazil’s São Paulo state, with powerful winds toppling trees and power lines, blocking streets and leaving large parts of the region without electricity.
Britain’s King Charles III said on Friday, 12 December, that his cancer treatment is expected to be reduced in the coming year, using a televised address to urge people across the country to take part in cancer screening programmes, officials confirmed.
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Lebanon is prepared to demarcate its border with Syria, President Joseph Aoun said on Friday, while noting that the dispute over the Shebaa Farms could be addressed at a later stage.
Greek farmers blocked the Port of Thessaloniki on Friday (12 December) as part of nationwide protests demanding delayed European Union subsidies and compensation for rising production costs and livestock losses.
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