The governors of Nebraska and Iowa have requested federal funds to assist communities in recovering from the terrible tornadoes that struck last Friday.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a state of emergency in Pottawattamie County hours after a devastating tornado slammed Minden, Iowa, seriously injuring Nicholas Ring, who died a day later. She later expanded the statement to include eight additional counties: Clarke, Crawford, Harrison, Mills, Polk, Ringgold, Shelby, and Union.
Reynolds requested “expedited” help on Thursday, pressing President Biden to declare a federal disaster in the area, which would allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration to disburse funds to affected counties.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said on Saturday that President Biden had voiced his support.
“The federal government is here to help us every single step of the way and we’ll being having declarations soon. So we’ll make sure that we’re helping everybody,” Pillen stated.
On Sunday, Pillen announced Nebraska’s state of emergency proclamation for Douglas, Washington, and Lancaster counties.
According to a news release, his office formally submitted an application to the president requesting “federal assistance for a wide range of emergency relief costs, including debris removal, emergency protective measures, and individual assistance,” on Thursday.
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“Preliminary cost assessments submitted to FEMA for public infrastructure damage in all counties is $11.5 million. Over $8 million of that is for damage assessed to public infrastructure in Douglas and Washington,” as per the release.
