Gov. Chris Christie has asked federal officials to declare Bergen County and ten other New Jersey counties as a major disaster area in response to the Oct. 29 snowstorm.

In a letter to President Barack Obama, Christie noted the widespread power outages and damage caused by the historic storm. The governor also pointed to at least five deaths caused by the storm. In Bergen County, two people died in a Teaneck house fire, and a man was killed in a fire in Franklin Lakes. A 64-year-old Teaneck man was also killed in what state police said was a storm-related accident on the New Jersey Turnpike.

“The unique, unseasonal nature of this storm, particularly in its impact on trees and power lines, rivaled the affects of Hurricane Irene in many areas of our state,” Christie said in a statement Tuesday.

Christie said local, county and state officials were confronted with “extraordinary fiscal challenges” in responding to the storm.

The governor requested grant funding for government agencies and private nonprofit organizations in Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties, the statement said.

“Federal resources will help speed the recovery and bring needed assistance to those areas of the state where it is most needed,” Christie said. 

Emergency management officials also conducted preliminary damage assessments in storm-ravaged counties. 

For more information about federal disaster recovery programs visit: 

Declaration Process: http://www.fema.gov/hazard/dproc.shtm 
 
PDA's: http://www.fema.gov/rebuild/recover/pda.shtm 

Public Assistance Info: http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/index.shtm

New Jersey Office of Emergency Management: www.ready.nj.gov