33 counties impacted by weather included in Gov. Parson’s request
Gov. Mike Parson has requested that President Joe Biden approve a major disaster declaration to provide federal assistance in 33 counties in response to multiple severe weather systems that impacted Missouri from July 29 through Aug. 14.
These storm systems generated tornadoes, straight line winds, heavy rain and flooding across the state, leading to significant damage to public infrastructure.
“For the past several weeks, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has been working tirelessly and in close coordination with our federal and local partners to document widespread damage as a result of the severe weather that repeatedly struck Missouri late this summer,” Parson said. “We are confident that federal assistance will be forthcoming and appreciate all the work that’s already been done by SEMA, local responders and partner agencies to help our communities recover.”
Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments conducted by SEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and local emergency managers estimate more than $14 million in infrastructure damage and emergency response costs eligible for federal assistance.
Parson is requesting Public Assistance for the following counties: Adair, Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Bollinger, Camden, Christian, Clark, Crawford, Dade, Gentry, Greene, Grundy, Henry, Iron, Knox, Madison, Maries, Mississippi, Morgan, New Madrid, Ozark, Perry, Scotland, Scott, Shelby, St. Clair, Ste. Genevieve, Taney, Vernon, Wayne and Worth.
If approved, local governments and qualifying non-profit agencies may seek federal assistance for reimbursement of emergency response and recovery costs, including repair and replacement costs for damaged roads, bridges, and other public infrastructure.
David Compton, Barry County Emergency Management director, said in Barry County, damage was limited to road districts dealing with washouts and debris.
“It’s mostly rural road damage, and we had no reports of public infrastructure damage from any cities,” he said. “It’s all road districts and [Barry Electric Cooperative].”
Compton said about $270,000 in damages have been assessed, and more is expected.
“Some districts have not finalized their assessments, so it should be more in the $350,000 to $400,000 range,” he said. “Most is road and debris damage, and the co-op had $100,000-plus in pole damage and damage to a substation. In total, 100 sites have damage. Half the road districts have reported damage.”
Compton said a storm the weekend before July 29 is not included in the declaration, and there was more than $600,000 in damages from a storm in April, for which the state never pursued a declaration.
“If we can get them some money to help, that would be great,” he said. “I prefer we’d had a declaration for the storms earlier this year, but at the end of the day, they are out of pocket of that money already, and anything we can get them on the back end now will help.”
On Aug. 5, Parson signed Executive Order 23-08 activating the Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan in response to continuing severe weather. On Aug. 4, an EF-2 tornado in Baring, located in Knox County, destroyed or caused major damage to more than 35 residences, as well as the town’s post office, fire station, and several other buildings. More than 30 people were displaced from their homes.
That same night, torrential rain in Adair County led to flash flooding and dozens of emergency calls. Hundreds of thousands of Missourians also lost power during the incident period due to strong winds downing trees and utility poles.
For additional resources and information about disaster recovery in Missouri, please visit recovery. mo.gov.
