Massachusetts governor asks feds to declare disaster after record-setting winter storms

The governor of Massachusetts has formally asked the federal government to declare a disaster in 10 counties after a record-setting series of winter storms.

Gov. Charlie Baker's request was made Friday in a 22-page letter to President Barack Obama, delivered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Citing an "unprecedented and disastrous pattern of severe winter weather," the letter seeks 75 percent federal reimbursement for an estimated $400 million in snow removal and other costs related to the storms, which Baker is asking the feds to treat as a single, monthlong disaster.

The letter says the storms claimed 25 lives and caused hundreds of injuries.

The disaster request does not include the four western-most counties in Massachusetts, which were not as severely impacted by the storms.