Biden approves disaster declaration for South Dakota for December storms
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Following a series of severe winter storms that hit South Dakota from mid-to-late December, President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for the state.
The announcement came Monday from the White House and allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide federal funding for state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis.
According to a release from the Governor's Office, an estimated $2,413,949 in damages to public infrastructure was incurred by severe winter weather between Dec. 12 and Dec. 25 in Bennett, Brookings, Clark, Day, Deuel, Hamlin, Jackson, Jones, Kingsbury, Mellette, Oglala Lakota, Potter, Roberts, Stanley, Todd, and Tripp counties.
The multi-day winter storms came with large amounts of snow, high winds and dangerous wind chills, prompting Sioux Falls Regional Airport to close and led the state Department of Public Safety to shut down I-90 and I-29 in Sioux Falls and issue a no travel advisory. Much of South Dakota was also under wind chill and blizzard warnings at times.
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Gov. Kristi Noem signed an executive order on Feb. 9, which formally declared the disaster in the state.
Federal funding will also be available to Bennett, Jones, Mellette, Stanley, Todd, and Tripp counties for snow removal costs incurred within a 48-hour period during or immediately after the snow storms. Funding is also available for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Biden approves disaster declaration for South Dakota for December storms
