Ferguson's request, made in a letter to Trump on Wednesday, covers only part of the cost to the state from the flooding.
The state will make a separate, likely much larger request by Feb. 18 for Federal Emergency Management Agency aid to cover costs of repairing storm-damaged highways, levees and other infrastructure.
More than 100,000 Washington residents were under evacuation orders during the storms, 383 emergency rescues were conducted, one person died and nearly 4,000 homes were damaged, according to Ferguson's office.
The scale, duration, and severity of this disaster overwhelmed local and state response capabilities," Ferguson said in a news release. "Thousands of families experienced devastating loss. Federal assistance is essential to help Washingtonians recover from these historic floods."
The governor's aid request letter and attachments ran 103 pages, and included color photos, maps and charts of the destruction wrought by 18 days of unrelenting rain and periods of high winds.
"Three of the state’s largest rivers broke all-time record flooding levels, and about 30 other rivers flooded as well. Levees and dikes were breached, causing sudden and severe flooding in industrial and residential areas," Ferguson wrote in the letter to Trump.
The deluge also shut down major highways and roads, hurt small business owners and "devastated farmland on the west side of the state, killing livestock and damaging crops, he wrote.
To help press the state's case, Ferguson also produced a video with dramatic news footage of the flooding and interviews with people whose homes were swept away amid torrential rains.
Ferguson’s request for individual FEMA assistance includes Chelan, Grays Harbor, King, Lewis, Pacific, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston and Whatcom counties, as well as 15 federally recognized tribal nations.
The state has supplied nearly $1 million in aid to about 2,600 households, including help with temporary shelter, medicine and other basic needs, according to the governor's office.
If Trump approves the major disaster declaration and individual aid, it would unlock direct payments for state residents whose homes were damaged in the flooding. Residents who might be eligible would have to apply for the help directly with FEMA.
The individual assistance program provides up to $43,600 to help pay for temporary housing, repairs or other needs for eligible people who face uninsured losses.
Trump approved initial federal help in the immediate wake of the December storms, signing an emergency declaration that allowed quick deployment of FEMA -trained search and rescue teams and other support.
FEMA disaster aid has historically enjoyed bipartisan support, but Trump has publicly linked some of his FEMA aid decisions to electoral politics, boasting of awarding money to states that voted for him while denying some requests by Democratic-led states.
The agency denied Washington's request for help in repairing $34 million in damages from 2024's bomb cyclone, despite an assessment showing the state qualified under the agency's state threshold for assistance.
In a bipartisan push, the state's entire congressional delegation and leaders of Democratic and Republican legislative caucuses plan to send letters this week endorsing the governor's aid request, according to Ferguson's office and state House Speaker Laurie Jinkins.
Washington state and county officials are still tallying up the total damage caused by the series of heavy storms that drenched the region between Dec. 5 and Dec. 22.
Transportation officials told lawmakers this month the cost to repair roads and highways will be at least $40 million, but cautioned that's a preliminary estimate.
The most severe damage hit Highway 2, where stretches were buried under 10 feet of debris and sections of road entirely washed away. Nearly 50 miles of the highway, between Skykomish and Leavenworth, were closed for about three weeks.
The highway has been reopened on both sides of Stevens Pass, but full repairs will take months, and a detour remains in place through Tumwater Canyon.
Ferguson's office gave no timeline for when a decision by Trump might be expected. Past requests have taken months before an answer.
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