Sumter Mayor Meets with White House Officials to Request Additional Aid

SUMTER, SC (January 6, 2015) – In an effort to shed light to the recovery efforts and needs from the October 2015 flood, City of Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen, along with the City of Columbia’s Mayor, Stephen Benjamin, visited Washington, DC today to request additional funding from the federal government.

Mayor McElveen presented information demonstrating the damages in Sumter of the rainfall from Hurricane Joaquin’s impact to Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro and community planning and development staff and requested additional financial assistance for recovery needs from White House officials as well as Congressman James Clyburn.

“I am here to let them know how devastating the recent floods were to our area and how urgently we need federal assistance,” stated McElveen. “The sooner communities like Sumter receive their share, the sooner we can reach maximum recovery.”

In October 2015, rain from Hurricane Joaquin overwhelmed the SC midlands area with 21.5 inches of rain in just two days. The storm caused over $6 million in damage to the City of Sumter’s facilities, including fire training grounds, water and sewer mains, streets, eight fully accessorized police cars as well as breached multiple dams. FEMA is currently reporting that 9,878 applications have been received from the residents of Sumter County, totaling an estimated $11.6 million in damages.

For more information on Sumter, South Carolina, visit www.sumtersc.gov.

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