South Dakota Requests Preliminary Damage Assessment

The state of South Dakota wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help assess and document flood damage in 13 counties and two American Indian reservations.

The state says it will use the information to decide whether to request federal aid for areas hit by early spring flooding. The assessment is an initial step in the presidential disaster declaration request process but doesn’t guarantee federal assistance.

A presidential declaration reimburses 75 percent of the costs of repairing eligible public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, culverts and sewer systems.

The counties are Brown, Butte, Campbell, Corson, Dewey, Edmunds, Harding, Marshall, McPherson, Perkins, Roberts, Spink, and Ziebach, along with the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Reservations. Visits start May 19.