Disaster declaration for Florida denied after Isaac causes damage, governor appeals

Florida is appealing a decision by the federal government to deny a request to declare the state a presidential major disaster area due to Tropical Storm turned Hurricane Isaac in August.

Upon hearing the news that the request was denied, Florida Governor Rick Scott fired off a letter to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.

In his letter the governor said the initial request was for nearly $27 million to help 7 counties including Palm Beach.

States must have at least $25 million in damage to make a request.

The governor pointed out that the state was adding three other counties to the initial list, including Broward and Martin, where damage was about $10 million.

As a result, the state says it suffered almost $37 million in damage from the storm.