Pillen requests fourth round of federal aid for Nebraska storm recovery

Tree damage from a July 31 wind storm is shown near North 66th Street and Fairacres Road in Omaha. (Cate Folsom/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen has requested his fourth round of federal funding to assist with Nebraska storm recovery, this time for severe storms, wind and flooding on July 31 and Aug. 1.

The storm’s impact included Cass, Douglas, Lancaster, Sarpy and Saunders Counties that were hit with hurricane-force winds, severe thunderstorms and hail. Current damage estimates for the summer storm exceed $34.6 million, according to the Governor’s Office.

The summer storm also included a historic outage for Omaha Public Power District, at more than 221,000 customers, or half of OPPD’s entire customer base in “a storm unlike any other we’ve seen,” according to an OPPD news release. Some customers were without electricity for several hours, others for more than a week. Approximately 34,000 customers with Lincoln Electric System were also without power.

OPPD President and CEO Javier Fernandez said it was the sixth storm-related outage that his team has faced in just over three months.

Recovery continued until the morning of Aug. 8, with 175 mutual aid crews assisting from across the country. The Governor’s Office said damage was estimated to span 230 miles.

If the federal request is granted, funds would assist with associated local recovery costs.

At $34.6 million, the July-August storm is estimated to have cost more than the previous three storms combined that Pillen received assistance for earlier this year:

• Wintry storms in the Nebraska Panhandle, April 6-7 .
• Arbor Day tornadoes and severe storms in eastern Nebraska, April 25-27 .
• Severe flooding, winds and storms in western Nebraska, May 20-June 3 .

President Joe Biden granted Pillen’s request for a federal disaster declaration for all three storms, estimated at $34.5 million.

“We’re working incredibly hard to get more than our fair share of federal dollars back home,” Pillen said in May . “Vastly different than what’s gone on for a lot of years.”

Pillen has also used the Governor’s Emergency Fund to help with other disasters. This included declaring a state of emergency for a Nebraska Panhandle wildfire in June that began in Box Butte County and went through Merrill County. Approximately 10,000 acres were scorched.

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