Grain bins in Luther were flattened by a derecho storm featuring winds of more than 100 mph. (Photo by Perry Beeman/Iowa Capital Dispatch).
DES MOINES, Iowa (KELO.com) — Gov. Kim Reynolds’ nearly $4 billion request for federal storm aid includes $3.8 billion to cover damage to 13 million acres of crops.
The state reported about a third of the cropland was damaged. Agronomists have said some corn plants knocked over for the storm may continue to grow, but losses are expected to be heavy.
The rest of the $3.99 billion request included $100 million for private utilities, $82.7 million for damage to homes and $45.3 million in public assistance.
Included in the state’s tally was $23.6 million in public infrastructure damage and $21.6 million to remove debris.
Reynolds’ request for a “presidential major disaster declaration,” filed on Sunday, a day earlier than expected, provided detailed information on a derecho storm Aug. 10 that brought sustained winds of more than 100 mph at times.
“From cities to farms, Iowans are hurting, many still have challenges with shelter, food, and power,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Resilience is in our DNA, but we’re going to need a strong and timely federal response to support recovery efforts.”
Reynolds asked for expedited review of her request. In separate conversations, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence told Reynolds to expect full support from the federal government.
In her application for a “presidential major disaster declaration,” Reynolds noted that the storm heavily damaged or destroyed 8,273 homes. The counties with the most homes damaged were Polk, 2,524; Linn, 1,914; and Scott, 974.
Overall, 275,762 Iowa homes and lots were damaged.
The emergency declaration would provide Federal Emergency Management Agency individual assistance to qualifying residents in 27 counties. Those include: Audubon, Benton, Boone, Cass, Cedar, Clarke, Clinton, Dallas, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hardin, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Madison, Marshall, Muscatine, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Story, Tama and Washington
That program covers housing, personal property replacement, medical expenses and legal services, for example.
Reynolds also requested funding under FEMA’s Public Assistance Program for the repair or replacement of public infrastructure and debris removal, for 16 counties. Included were: Benton, Boone, Cedar, Clinton, Dallas, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Marshall, Muscatine, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Story, and Tama.
Over the weekend, hundreds of crews worked to restore power and cable service.
Utilities said they expected to have most power restored by Tuesday. Alliant Energy reported that most customers in Johnson County had power by the end of the weekend, as did the cities of Conrad, Walford and West Branch. The utility said most customers should have power by midnight Tuesday.
MidAmerican Energy reported 280 customers without power Monday morning, mostly in the Quad Cities. The utility had expected to finish most work over the weekend.
The storm knocked cell phone service for 445,000 people, with 38,000 landlines disrupted. Cities asked for backup generators for water towers in Olin, Oslo, Ames, Gilbert, Charlotte and Yale.
Monday brought the beginning of major curbside limb and tree collection in Des Moines and some suburbs.
(Perry Beeman with the Iowa Capital Dispatch contributed this report. It was first reported here. It is used with permission.)
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