Biden administration approves South Dakota disaster declaration for historic flooding

The Biden administration will be providing federal funds to eastern South Dakota counties after historic flooding ravaged multiple communities.

President Joe Biden signed off on a major disaster declaration for the state, the White House announced in a Thursday night press release .

Four counties — Davison, Lincoln, Turner, and Union — qualified for individual assistance. This allows residents and businesses to receive grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency .

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362).

Additionally, federal funding is being made available to state, tribal, eligible local governments, certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the flooding.

Eligible counties include: Aurora, Bennett, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hand, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jackson, Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Sanborn, Tripp, Turner, Union, and Yankton.

The federal government will take on 75% of the costs for those counties. The state will pay for 15% of the costs, while counties will be responsible for the remaining 10%.

Gov. Kristi Noem formally requested the federal aid on July 26 after signing an executive order to declare the disaster.

“South Dakota has worked tremendously hard to get to this point and will continue working to rebuild our communities. I am so proud of our people,” Noem wrote in a Thursday night press release. “This event was unprecedented, but our response was exactly what South Dakota always does. We work together to get our neighbors back on their feet.”

The flooding first impacted eastern South Dakota communities in mid-June and officially lasted until July 8. The National Weather Service called the rains that induced the flooding "a 1,000-year event."

The disaster inundated communities and damaged infrastructure across eastern South Dakota. The McCook Lake community in North Sioux City was hit by floodwaters diverted from the Big Sioux River on July 23, destroying about 30 homes and eroding roads.

A BNSF railroad bridge used to transport goods over the South Dakota-Iowa border in North Sioux City also collapsed July 23 due to the flooding.

Some parts of Canton also received more than a foot of rain between June 20 and June 22, almost exactly a decade after the 2014 flood that struck the area .

One person died as a result of the flooding. The state Department of Public Safety confirmed the death involved 87-year-old Merlyn Rennich, of Harrisburg, who crashed a UTV on a closed road near Lake Alvin, 5 miles east of Harrisburg. The road was damaged by the floodwaters, and the man died after reversing into the road's washed-out shoulder while attempting to turn around.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Biden administration approves South Dakota disaster declaration for historic flooding