President Bush Declares 25 South Dakota Counties Disaster Areas

President Bush Declares 25 South Dakota Counties Disaster Areas

Gov. Mike Rounds today announced that 25 South Dakota counties have been declared Federal disaster areas following a severe winter storm that knocked out power to many parts of the eastern half of the state.

"This was one of the most damaging winter storms in our state's history" said Gov. Rounds on the announcement. "I want to thank President Bush and the FEMA leadership for acting swiftly and appropriately to approve the declaration."

The storm caused major damage to eighteen rural electric cooperatives in Central and Northeast South Dakota, resulting in power outages for many customers lasting more than one week. More than 8,000 power poles and 10,000 miles of power line were damaged or destroyed.

During the weekend of December 3-4, representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted a joint preliminary damage assessment in the affected counties. The joint preliminary damage assessment by state and federal emergency management officials documented more than $1 million in damages to power lines and other public infrastructure. On Sunday, December 4, Gov. Rounds requested that President George W. Bush approve a major disaster declaration for the 25 counties hardest hit by the storms. FEMA notified South Dakota on Tuesday, December 20, of federal assistance for South Dakota.

The following is a list of counties included in the designation: Aurora, Beadle, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown, Charles Mix, Clark, Codington, Davison, Day, Deuel, Douglas, Edmunds, Grant, Gregory, Hamlin, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Marshall, Miner, Roberts, Sanborn and Spink.

State, local and tribal governments, as well as certain private non-profit organizations in the 25 counties are eligible for federal funding that will cover up to 75 percent of eligible expenses to help restore damaged infrastructure back to pre-disaster condition. Also included in the declaration is the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for the entire state. The program provides grants on a cost share basis for state, local and tribal governments, as well as certain private non-profit organizations to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration. The purpose of the program is to reduce the effects of future natural disasters and to enable mitigation measures be implemented during the immediate recovery from a disaster.

State emergency management officials are currently informing county emergency managers of the declaration. FEMA officials will arrive soon to begin coordinating the recovery and assistance efforts with South Dakota.

http://www.state.sd.us/governor/