PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Democratic Gov. Janet Mills requested a federal disaster declaration for seven Maine counties for damage from a wild December storm that left tens of thousands of people in the dark for Christmas.

The storm caused coastal flooding and road washouts, wind damage and power outages, and other problems, she wrote Thursday in a letter to the president. If approved, the request would unlock federal funding for public infrastructure repairs.

The storm was part of the same wind-whipped system that buried Buffalo, New York, and claimed more than 40 lives in western New York.

In Maine, more than 300, 000 homes and businesses lost electricity during the storm that began on Dec. 23 and about 40,000 were still in the dark Christmas night.