South Dakota has received a Presidential Disaster Declaration for the counties affected by violent storms that blew through the state in June (June 11-14, 2022).
The declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help local governments in six counties recover from public infrastructure damage sustained as a result of a tornado, severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding and hail.
Public infrastructure damage assistance will be provided to the counties of Butte, Haakon, Jackson, Jones, McPherson and Spink. A preliminary damage assessment conducted by FEMA in early July indicated more than $1.6 million in storm damage was done to public infrastructure in those counties.
FEMA staff was already in the state working on a Presidential disaster declaration that was approved for a May storm (May 12, 2022) that did public infrastructure damage in 20 counties and on two reservations. FEMA staff will begin work immediately to help governmental and certain private-non-profit entities with assistance efforts for the June declaration.
In a letter requesting a disaster declaration, Governor Kristi Noem said the storm resulted in a tornado in Jones County, the first in that county 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. More than 6,000 customers experienced power outages, and many customers were without power for up to four days.
The Department of Public Safety’s Office of Emergency Management will be the state agency assigned to help coordinate the assistance.
You can find the letter requesting the Presidential Disaster Declaration here.
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