Governor Chet Culver says while some 15 counties have experienced flooding, there doesn’t appear to be major damage in any of the counties. Culver has declared nine counties state disaster areas due to the flooding. Culver toured several eastern Iowa cities in the past couple of days and told Radio Iowa in a phone interview that much of the damage is from flooded basements.
He says some of the businesses in Davenport have had "some flooding challenges" and a lot of individuals in 15 counties have experienced flooding. Some agricultural ground has been flooded, but Culver says if weather conditions improve, it shouldn’t be a major problem. Culver says the bad news is that farmers are delayed in their planting, but Culver says the good news is there are not large areas of ag land that have been impacted.
The state disaster declaration allows the counties to get state help in fighting the flooding. Culver doesn’t think the damage will be enough to ask for federal help. "No at this point, primarily these nine counties hope to just need some limited state assistance and (are) not likely to receive any federal designation at this time," Culver says.
Culver says the state is doing what it can to help those impacted from the flood. He says for the nine counties, there is the individual assistance program that gives up to $3,300 of reimbursement for flood-related damage. Culver urges people to call 877-937-3663 to find out more information on assistance. The grant application and step-by-step instructions on how to fill it out are found on the front page of the Department of Human Services website . Look for the words "Storm Help".
Culver declared Clayton, Fayette, Grundy, Humboldt,Webster, Black Hawk, Bremer, Jones, and Louisa Counties as disaster areas.