Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has asked for federal disaster declarations in more than half of the states 99 counties as a result of this week’s rare December storm event. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says he expects more counties will be added to that list as assessments continue.
He says damage reports from the storm are coming in from across the state and insurance claims are being filed for what is mostly structural damage at this point. The total dollar value of these losses is still being determined.
While the National Weather Service hasn’t officially declared the storm a derecho yet, Naig says it was similar with reports of strong winds and tornadoes.
Naig says they are still collecting information on damage to determine what additional assistance they need to ask for on a federal level and what resources are available from the state.
