DISASTER INFORMATION:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2024
Contact: Ian Fury
South Dakota Receives Presidential Disaster Declaration after Historic Flooding
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that South Dakota has received a presidential disaster declaration due to the historic 1000-year flooding event that occurred between June 16 and July 8, 2024. 25 counties have received disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and four of those counties have qualified for individual assistance for residents and business owners.
“South Dakota has worked tremendously hard to get to this point and will continue working to rebuild our communities. I am so proud of our people,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “This event was unprecedented, but our response was exactly what South Dakota always does. We work together to get our neighbors back on their feet.”
Residents and business owners in the following four counties qualified for individual assistance: Davison, Lincoln, Turner, and Union. Residents must contact FEMA to register.
Disaster Recovery Center dates & locations will be announced very soon. It is not necessary to go to a center to apply for FEMA assistance. Impacted individuals located within one of these counties can go online to disasterassistance.gov, call 800-621-3362 or use the FEMA mobile app to apply.
In addition, federal funding is available to state, tribal, eligible local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the flooding in the following 25 counties: Aurora, Bennett, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hand, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jackson, Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Sanborn, Tripp, Turner, Union, and Yankton.
As Governor Noem reiterated many times throughout this historic flooding event, for those local communities, the cost share will be 75% federal, 15% state, and 10% local. These local entities will work with state and FEMA officials to obtain this assistance.
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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves South Dakota Disaster Declaration
Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of South Dakota and ordered Federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding from June 16 to July 8, 2024.
The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Davison, Lincoln, Turner, and Union.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is also available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding in the counties of Aurora, Bennett, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hand, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jackson, Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Sanborn, Tripp, Turner, Union, and Yankton.
Lastly, Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
Mr. Edwin J. Martin of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA App. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR [email protected].
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If your property was damaged by the recent flood event please follow the link below and fill out and return 2024 Flood Damage online form:
https://unioncountysd.org/director-of-equalization/
Union County Director of Equalization is actively collecting data from property owners at this time for the 2025 Tax Year, payable in 2026. This information will assist with future property assessments.