PIERRE, S.D.(Press Release) – Governor Kristi Noem announced today that South Dakota has received a Presidential Disaster Declaration that allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help South Dakota local governments in six counties statewide recover from public infrastructure damage sustained as a result of a tornado, severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, and hail that occurred June 11-14, 2022.

Public infrastructure damage assistance will be provided to the counties of Butte, Haakon, Jackson, Jones, McPherson, and Spink. A preliminary damage assessment conducted by FEMA in early July indicated more than $1.6 million in storm damage was done to public infrastructure in those counties.

In a letter requesting a disaster declaration, Noem wrote that the storm resulted in a tornado in Jones County, the first in that county since 1999; straight-line winds of more than 100 miles per hour; golf ball to grapefruit-sized hail; and heavy rains that led to flooding. More than 6,000 customers experienced power outages, and many customers were without power for up to four days.

FEMA staff was already in the state working on a Presidential disaster declaration that was approved for a May 12 storm that did public infrastructure damage in 20 counties and on two reservations.  FEMA staff will begin work immediately to help governmental and certain private-non-profit entities with assistance efforts for this declaration. The Department of Public Safety’s Office of Emergency Management will be the state agency assigned to help coordinate the assistance.

You can find the letter requesting the Presidential Disaster Declaration here.