Sen. Rounds: President Approves South Dakota Disaster Declaration

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 -- The office of Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., issued the following news release:

U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) issued the following statements after President Trump approved South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard's request for a major disaster declaration for 24 counties and two tribal governments in South Dakota. The federal disaster assistance will help communities recover from strong winter thunderstorms and a subsequent blizzard that resulted in flooding, significant snow and ice accumulations, and high-velocity straight-line winds across the state. Three people lost their lives as a result of the winter storm.

"A number of South Dakota communities suffered significant losses during recent thunderstorms and blizzards," said Rounds. "President Trump's disaster declaration will help these communities which suffered losses to be eligible for federal assistance as they work to rebuild."

"I want to thank President Trump for taking quick action so these communities across South Dakota can continue the hard work of rebuilding their cities and towns," said Thune. "Now that this declaration has been approved, I hope folks can have greater peace of mind knowing that more help is on the way."

"South Dakotans are resilient, but disasters like this can threaten a family's financial security," said Noem. "President Trump's swift actions will help make sure South Dakota communities get the help they need to rebuild from a devastating winter storm."

The affected counties include Butte, Clark, Codington, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Edmunds, Fall River, Faulk, Grant, Haakon, Hamlin, Harding, Jackson, Jones, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Pennington, Perkins, Roberts, Stanley, Sully, and Ziebach. The disaster declaration also covers the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in Dewey and Ziebach Counties and the Oglala Sioux Tribe in Jackson County.

On January 25, the delegation wrote to President Trump and encouraged him to quickly approve Gov. Daugaard's request. On January 31, the delegation sent another letter to the president with respect to a similar request from Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Chairman David Flute. The president has not yet made a determination on that request.

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