DES MOINES – Governor Terry Branstad today announced that Audubon and Grundy counties, which were affected by severe weather in June, have been added to the Presidential Disaster Declaration granted July 31, 2013.
This declaration provides assistance to state and local governments and certain nonprofit organizations (including rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities) for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities. The initial counties that were eligible for Public Assistance were Allamakee, Benton, Buchanan, Butler, Cedar, Clayton, Delaware, Howard, Jones and Winneshiek.
Public Assistance funds are available to public entities and select non-profit agencies in the declared counties to rebuild damaged infrastructure that may include roads, bridges, culverts, and other public facilities, or to cover costs of emergency work during severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that began June 21 and continued through June 28, 2013. This was the state’s fourth Presidential Disaster Declaration for 2013.
The Presidential Disaster Declaration also includes funding to conduct hazard mitigation activities for the entire state. With this funding, Iowa will be able to minimize the impact of future natural disasters by taking steps now to strengthen existing infrastructure.
