South Dakota requests federal disaster declaration for June–July severe-storm damage
Gov. Larry Rhoden has requested a presidential major-disaster declaration for eight South Dakota counties and the Crow Creek and Lower Brule reservations following a multiday sequence of severe storms that included a mini-derecho, a tornado and a historic windstorm.
The request, made July 28, covers damage from storms that occurred from June 28 through July 3. It begins a federal review process but is not an approval of federal assistance.
If a declaration is approved, it could support eligible public recovery and infrastructure costs in the areas covered by the request. Any assistance would remain subject to federal approval and eligibility determinations.
A presidential decision had not been reported in the available information. The reporting also did not identify the eight counties by name or say which counties or tribal areas would ultimately be found eligible for assistance.
Eight counties and two reservations included
The request identifies eight counties and two tribal reservations: the Crow Creek Reservation and the Lower Brule Reservation. Those are the locations included in the request; the request should not be read as a federal disaster declaration for all of South Dakota.
The storm period ran from June 28 through July 3, while the state had already taken emergency action after severe weather on June 29. Rhoden declared a state of emergency on June 30, according to the state.
That state declaration reduced administrative barriers and enabled state recovery resources. At the time of the state announcement, six state agencies and 23 trained inmates were helping with cleanup.
The federal request is a later step in the response to the broader storm sequence. The available sources do not provide a total damage estimate, and they do not set a date by which the president must act on the request.
Extreme wind report still under evaluation
Highmore recorded a wind gust of 131 mph during the storms. The status of that measurement as a possible state or national record was still being evaluated.
The pending record review does not determine whether a major-disaster declaration will be approved. Likewise, the reported wind gust describes conditions at Highmore but does not establish the amount of damage across the counties and reservations included in the request.
The reported event combined several forms of severe weather over multiple days: a mini-derecho, tornado activity and a windstorm described as historic. The June 28-to-July 3 timeframe is the period tied to the federal request, while the June 30 state emergency declaration followed the June 29 storms cited by the state.
What happens next
The next known step is federal consideration of Rhoden’s request for a presidential major-disaster declaration. No approval was reported in the source material.
For public entities and tribal areas within the request, the practical significance of a federal declaration would depend on both approval and later eligibility determinations for recovery and infrastructure costs. The packet does not specify what projects, facilities or costs could qualify, and it does not provide a timetable for those determinations.
For now, the confirmed development is that South Dakota has moved its response from state emergency action to a request for federal disaster assistance covering eight counties and the Crow Creek and Lower Brule reservations. Whether that request results in a presidential declaration remains unresolved.
Sources
- Gov. Rhoden requests presidential disaster declaration for storm damage, KOTA Radio
- Gov. Rhoden Declares State of Emergency, State of South Dakota