Damage to a Story City home. (Photo by Story City PD Sgt. Jerry Spencer.)
Governor Kim Reynolds has formally asked President Trump to issue a major disaster declaration for communities and counties hit by last Monday’s “devastating” derecho.
In a news release, Reynolds said the State of Iowa will need nearly $4 billion from its “federal partners to fully recover” from the derecho.
Reynolds said Iowans — “from cities to farms” — are hurting and “many still have challenges with shelter, food and power.”
The paperwork submitted asks for federal assistance to individuals and business owners in the following 27 counties: Audubon, Benton, Boone, Cass, Cedar, Clarke, Clinton, Dallas, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hardin, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Madison, Marshall, Muscatine, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Story, Tama, and Washington.
The governor also asked for federal aid to help pay for debris removal and to repair or replace government-owned infrastructure that was damaged in the following 16 counties. Benton, Boone, Cedar, Clinton, Dallas, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Marshall, Muscatine, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Story, and Tama.
According to the governor’s office, aerial photos indicate nearly 8,300 Iowa homes were damaged or destroyed. Just the cost of getting rid of debris from the derecho was estimated to be $21.6 million.