The State of South Dakota is requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration to help local governments in six counties recover from public infrastructure damage from severe summer storms that occurred June 11-14, 2022.
A preliminary damage assessment conducted this week by FEMA indicates more than $1.6 million in damage was done to public infrastructure in Butte, Haakon, Jackson, Jones, McPherson and Spink counties. FEMA assistance is requested to help with repairs for damage done to public infrastructure.
The letter to President Biden says the storm resulted in a tornado in Jones County, the first there since 1999, straight-line winds of more than 100 miles per hour, golf ball to grapefruit-sized hail and heavy rains that led to flooding. It also says more than 6,000 customers experienced power outages and many customers were without power for up to four days.
Governor Kristi Noem says the National Weather Service offices issued 63 more combined severe weather and tornado warnings during the four-day period than the average number of warnings for this time of year. The request does not guarantee federal funding will be made available, but Noem said the six counties included in this request need federal assistance.
The Governor says the counties in the current request are rural and have a low population base, which limits the local government’s ability to financially recover from disasters. She says without assistance, costs incurred by the rural electric cooperatives because of these damages will be passed on to families, many of whom are lower income, who are already suffering from losses.
South Dakota currently has seven open Presidential disaster declarations for other events and is working with FEMA on the recovery process for each of those disasters.
Last month, the President approved a disaster declaration for the 20 South Dakota counties and two reservations impacted by severe weather that occurred May 12, 2022.
You can find the request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration here.
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