HURON – Beadle County commissioners took the first step in seeking to secure federal disaster relief funds Tuesday by adopting a resolution declaring an emergency due to “severe damage caused by flooding from rapid thawing mixed with heavy rains.”
Gov. Kristi Noem declared South Dakota a disaster state as of March 13, and the resolution states that since that time going forward the county has sustained damage, including washed-out gravel roads and culverts.
Emergency Management Director Taylor Jans, who met with commissioners during a brief late afternoon meeting, said the resolution will be forwarded to the state Office of Emergency Management, which will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on behalf of all of the South Dakota counties impacted by flooding.
“It’s the start of getting Beadle County as a disaster county when we do apply for FEMA money,” he said. “It’s just one of the steps to getting FEMA money.”
Jans has sent letters to supervisors in all 35 townships asking them to submit damage estimates. They have been asked to indicate each site with damage and describe what happened.
“Beadle County as a whole has to come up with just under $67,000 in damages in order to receive FEMA money,” Jans said.