TRENTON — Gov. Sherrill has asked President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster in Monmouth, Atlantic and Cape May counties, seeking federal money to help the three Shore counties recover from a severe nor'easter in September, the governor's office said Tuesday.

The request was made in a letter to the president, according to the governor's office. If the declaration is granted, the state and the affected counties could apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance grants to reimburse storm-related costs, the office said. The request also seeks Hazard Mitigation Grant Program money for projects meant to protect communities against future storms.

Preliminary damage validated by FEMA came to $13,779,935 in Cape May County, $8,469,403 in Monmouth County and $4,726,699 in Atlantic County, according to the governor's office. The office said all three counties exceeded FEMA's per capita damage threshold, by nearly three times in Monmouth County and by 30 times in Cape May County.

"We are working to ensure our coastal communities have the resources they need to recover from the September Nor'easter," Sherrill said in a statement.

The governor's office said the request follows an earlier one by the Sherrill administration for federal help repairing eligible U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects damaged by the storm. FEMA's Public Assistance program would cover damaged areas of the coast that are not under the Army Corps' authority, the office said.

This brief was drafted by AI from a public agency’s press release and published by The New Jersey Tide. Why we use AI for stories like this one.