OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Washington state’s request for disaster aid for last fall’s bomb cyclone has been denied once again.

An official with FEMA said in a letter to Gov. Bob Ferguson that federal assistance is not warranted, without offering any explanation.

It came in response to Ferguson’s appeal of the agency’s decision in April to deny the state disaster relief funding.

According to the governor’s office, the storm caused an estimated $34 million in damage to public highways, public utilities and electrical grids in Washington.

It also killed two people in King and Snohomish counties and damaged over 20 homes in Sudden Valley when it struck in November 2024.

Ferguson said in a statement that Washington met all the criteria to qualify for disaster relief funds.

According to KUOW, the Trump administration has denied 6 of 10 requests for major-disaster relief from Democratic governors, while approving 14 of 15 requests from Republican governors.

Sen. Patty Murray called the decision “outrageous” and a “dangerous politicization of disaster assistance.”

“This is exactly the kind of catastrophic event federal disaster aid was designed for,” Sen. Murray said in a statement. “County governments cannot be reasonably expected to shoulder $34 million dollars in damages from the bomb cyclone that caused tremendous damage to public infrastructure and left hundreds of thousands of people without power.”