Codington County commissioners approve disaster declaration after May 12 storm

J.T. Fey
·1 min read

Codington County commissioners approved a disaster declaration during Tuesday's meeting at the courthouse.

They have also asked Gov. Kristi Noem to approve a disaster declaration for the county after a May 12 storm caused substantial issues, including damaged buildings, downed electrical lines, uprooted trees and more, throughout the county.

The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down near Dakota Sioux Casino, causing major damage to one farmstead, according to information discussed at the commission meeting.

That was the same storm system that produced an EF-2 tornado that badly damaged the school and other buildings in Castlewood.

If the disaster declaration is approved by Noem, federal dollars would be made available to Codington County residents to help cover storm recovery costs.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Commissioners approve disaster declaration for Codington County