Midwest Governors Want $200 Million in Disaster Aid

The governors of Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma requested almost $200 million in federal disaster aid to help recovery efforts after a January storm.

Kansas and Oklahoma are seeking full federal relief; Missouri wants 90 percent of relief funds to come from the federal government, which usually contributes 75 percent of disaster aid.

The governors appealed separately to President Bush, citing the storm’s economic effects on their already strapped state budgets.

Major disaster areas have been declared in 32 Oklahoma counties, 24 Kansas counties, and 26 Missouri counties. The winter storm knocked out power to 412,000 Missouri residents, as well as 255,000 Oklahoma residents and businesses. The storm was blamed for at least 28 deaths, including four people in Oklahoma, two in Kansas and one in Missouri.