YANKTON, S.D. – The Yankton County Office of Emergency Management wants to inform you that if you have experienced flood damage to your property or business, you can click the link below to submit your damage assessment: https://crisistrack.juvare.com/selfreport/sdoem.jsp?cid=yanktonSD&schemaId=null&iid=6675aeb28ae3c12728e70741&appId=yanktonSD

You will need to provide some basic information including your Social Security Number, any private insurance information you have, address, zip code, your phone number and directions to your effect home or business.

The information provided will be used to collect damage information that may be used to seek a Presidential Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance or a Small Business Administration Rural Agency Disaster Declaration. Please note, completing this form does not guarantee assistance will become available.

 

 SOUTH DAKOTA Undated – At 3 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, June 25th, state officials reopened the northbound and southbound lanes on Interstate 29 from exit 2 to exit 26 in southeast South Dakota. Motorists are advised that while all lanes of traffic are open, there may be standing water along the shoulders of the roadway.

This past weekend both northbound and southbound lanes of I-29 were closed due to record high water from the Big Sioux River.

Motorists are also reminded that while I-29 has reopened, local roads and other state highways continue to be impacted by high water, clean-up efforts, and emergency response. The attached flood traffic plan map indicates locations that remain closed and roads that are open only to local traffic near exit 4 in North Sioux City. The map is also available at https://dot.sd.gov/travelers/travelers/flooding-information. As conditions change, local roads and on and off-ramps at exit 4 may require closure to facilitate response operations.

The public is asked to please stay away from these impacted areas to allow the response efforts to be completed safely. Motorists should not drive through rushing or standing water over roadways as the road may be washed out underneath.

Please visit or download the SD511 mobile app to view all current road closures and highway obstructions.

 

 DES MOINES, IA – FEMA Teams plan to visit Iowa neighborhoods affected by flooding.

Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management says FEMA Teams will begin visiting shelters and neighborhoods in the following Siouxland areas:

Clay County

Emmet County

Lyon County

Sioux County

Plymouth County

Emergency Management says FEMA’s Disaster Survivor Assistance teams will work with both state and county emergency management teams. DSA teams will also help Adams County, Jasper County and Cedar County residents.

The management teams say, “FEMA can provide money to eligible applicants for help with serious needs, paying for a temporary place to live, home repairs and other needs that are not covered by insurance. ”

These counties will also be added to the disaster declaration for damages caused by severe storms, tornadoes and severe storms that occurred from Monday, May 20 and Friday, May 31.

How to Apply with FEMA

Visit DisasterAssistance.gov

Call FEMA directly at 800-621-FEMA (3362)

Download and use the FEMA app

FEMA works with every household on a case-by-case basis.

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 an accessible video on three ways to apply for FEMA assistance, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU7wzRjByhI

Types of FEMA Aid Available

FEMA will offer a variety of help to residents affected by the flooding. Every resident who experienced damages is encouraged to apply.

Money provided by the FEMA organization does not need to be repaid and may include:

Serious Needs: Money for lifesaving and life-sustaining items, including water, food, first aid, prescriptions, infant formula, breastfeeding supplies, diapers, consumable medical supplies, durable medical equipment, personal hygiene items and fuel for transportation.

Displacement: Money to help with housing needs if you cannot return to your home because of the disaster. The money can be used to stay in a hotel, with family and friends or other options while you look for a rental unit.

Home Repair or Replacement: Money to help you repair or replace your home damaged by the disaster. The money can also help with pre-existing damage to parts of your home where the disaster caused further damage.

Rental Assistance: Money you can use to rent housing if you are displaced from your home because of the disaster.

Personal Property: Money to help you repair or replace appliances, room furnishings, and a personal or family computer damaged by the disaster. This can also include money for books, uniforms, tools, medical equipment and other items required for school or work, including self-employment

Child Care: Money to help you pay for increased or child care expenses caused by the disaster.

Transportation: Money to help you repair or replace a vehicle damaged by the disaster when you don’t have another vehicle you can use.

Moving and Storage Expenses: Money to help you move and store personal property from your home to prevent additional damage.

Home Inspections

Emergency Management sats FEMA housing inspectors are working in Iowa to inspect damages that have been reported by people who have applied with FEMA. The organization says inspectors will call or text to make an appointment before coming into a resident’s home.

The inspectors will also display an official photo identification. The management team says if the official identification card is not visible, it is okay to ask for it because this helps prevent fraud.

 

MANKATO, MN – Blue Earth County Public Works, Emergency Management and Sheriff’s Office staff continue to monitor the Rapidan Dam in Minnesota.

At a Tuesday press conference Eric Weller, Emergency Management Director for the county, stated that his office and other authorities are continuously monitoring the dam.

He stated that the flows peaked at 34,800 cubic feet per second late on Monday afternoon and had lowered to 33,000 cubic feet per second by Tuesday afternoon, but those flows did cause the partial failure of the west abutment.  That resulted in the loss of an Xcel substation causing power outages.

He also said that the term imminent threat was used per the County’s Emergency Action Plan and that currently officials believe the dam is intact and will hold due to the water that bypassed the structure on the west side when the undercut occurred.  Officials believe that lessened the pressure on the dam enough to allow the structure to hold.

Currently the water is flowing around the west side of the dam and continues to erode slopes on the west side. County Road 9 bridge remains closed to traffic for public safety.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) plans to be onsite evaluating and monitoring the situation today.

 

IOWA Undated (Mark Moran / Iowa News Service) – Farm advocates claim price gouging on meat and poultry in California is spreading across the country, including in Iowa, which is the nation’s largest hog producer.

California passed a law banning the use of gestation crates for raising hogs, and producers said it increased production costs which are rippling across the country to Iowa. Iowa has similar regulations on gestation crates.

The agriculture advocacy group Farm Action has issued a report which shows in addition to blaming the California law, corporate meat producers also continue to use supply chain disruptions as an excuse to price-gouge.

Joe Maxwell, chief strategy officer for Farm Action, offered as evidence a 20% hike in California pork prices.

“It’s just a part of their doing business now,” Maxwell pointed out. “They find excuses in the markets to gouge that consumer. And one thing we want to be very clear on is that the consumer knows it’s not the farmer. The farmer’s getting squeezed just as much as is the consumer.”

Iowa is the nation’s leading hog producer, but still lost $32 per hog in 2023, a number experts said could grow this year. They blamed increased demand but have also come under scrutiny for trying to meet demand by raising hogs in large confinements, which are known to cause environmental damage.

Farm Action is the same group which, not long after the official end of the pandemic, asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate egg prices, which had tripled in some cases. The group researched U.S. Department of Agriculture data and said the numbers did not justify the price hike.

Producers said other factors are driving up prices, including inflation and animal illness.

Maxwell added corporate food producers have positioned themselves to have outsize control over the market.

“They’ve got that control over the farmer, not unlike oil companies have over oil fields,” Maxwell argued. “They now have that control because there are very few buyers of farmers’ commodities, so they have that control over the farmer, the producer.”

Iowa produces almost 50 million hogs a year. It costs nearly $4 billion a year just to feed them.