Northwest Iowa — Three northwest Iowa counties are among 43 counties Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has declared state disaster areas as a result of Wednesday’s storm.
The governor’s disaster declaration releases state resources, like DOT dump trucks, to assist with clean-up and low income Iowans may apply for disaster aid to cover expenses like ruined food and damaged appliances. Reynolds says the storm could be Iowa’s second derecho in 16 months.
There were 55 gusts of at least 75 miles-an-hour Wednesday night. That’s more than were recorded during the August, 2020 derecho. Reynolds says the forecast for yesterday’s storm — after the tornadoes last week that ravaged Kentucky and several other states — was worrisome.
Reynolds says Iowans did a good job of responding to the warnings that severe weather would sweep into Iowa Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Reynolds says while damage assessments are still underway, she would be surprised if Iowa would qualify for a presidential disaster declaration. That’s because storm damage must be significant and widespread to qualify for that federal assistance.
The Governor’s Disaster Declaration includes; O’Brien, Cherokee and Buena Vista Counties here in northwest Iowa, as well as the counties of Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Bremer, Butler, Calhoun, Cass, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Davis, Fayette, Floyd, Green, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Howard, Ida, Kossuth, Lucas, Madison, Marshall, Mills, Mitchell, Monroe, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Sac, Shelby, Union, Washington, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Wright and Worth.
