Disaster Aid for June Storms in South Dakota Tops $3.4 Million

PIERRE, SD – The South Dakota Office of Emergency Management (SDOEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that more than $3.4 million in disaster aid has been approved to help communities in twelve counties and three tribal nations in South Dakota recover from a series of June storms.  Those storms caused a swath of damage that stretched from southwest South Dakota through the center of the state.

According to South Dakota Director of Emergency Management Tina Titze, 26 applicants including the City of Pierre, West Central Electric Cooperative, and the Crow Creek, Lower Brule and Oglala Sioux tribal governments are receiving reimbursements for disaster costs and debris cleanup.  Federal Coordinating Officer Gary Stanley added, “Under the presidential disaster declaration FEMA reimburses applicants for not less than 75 percent of eligible recovery costs and the state of South Dakota contributes an additional 10 percent cost share.”

On July 30, 2015 President Obama issued a major disaster declaration for the state making Brule, Buffalo, Fall River, Haakon, Hughes, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Lyman, McCook, Oglala Lakota and Stanley counties  as well as the Crow Creek Sioux, Lower Brule Sioux  and Oglala Sioux tribal nations eligible for federal disaster aid.  The presidential declaration came in response to a request from Governor Dennis Daugaard following the June storms. 

FEMA’s Public Assistance Program provides funding to local government jurisdictions and eligible private non-profits for the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged infrastructure as well as costs incurred for disaster cleanup or emergency actions taken to protect lives or property.