President Signs Iowa Derecho Disaster Declaration
Dakota News Now reports President Donald Trump has signed an emergency declaration for the state of Iowa. This declaration frees up federal funds that will help the state recover from last week's devastating wind storm.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds sent a request to the president on Sunday. Trump approved the request on Monday and said he may visit the state to survey the damage.
The disaster request submitted by Reynolds says the state suffered a staggering $3.99 billion in damage, Dakota News Now reported.
A rare weather phenomenon known as a derecho swept across Iowa on August 10, cutting a path of destruction from its 100 mph straight-line winds. 13 million acres of corn, representing one-third of the state's cropland, were either damaged or destroyed, along with about 8200 homes.
According to poweroutage.us, about 70,000 customers in Iowa were still without power on Monday, August 17.