Derecho disaster assistance and resources

Q: What resources will the President’s Major Disaster Declaration open up for Iowans?

     A: On Aug. 10, 2020, an unprecedented derecho ravaged communities in more than one-third of Iowa counties from the Missouri to the Mississippi River. Hurricane-force winds roared through Iowa’s entire mid-section in less than an hour, flattening cornfields, ripping apart grain bins, damaging thousands of homes, and splintering countless trees within a 40- to 60-mile wingspan. Power outages impacted hundreds of thousands of Iowans in what one Iowa utility called its worst damage ever to transmission lines.

     I saw the destruction firsthand, and Iowans are hurting. Gov. Kim Reynolds’ administration took immediate action to assess the historic storm damage and requested nearly $4 billion in federal disaster assistance. Within 24 hours, the Trump Administration approved Gov. Reynolds’ request for public assistance with the full support of the Iowa congressional delegation.

     By expediting approval for a major disaster declaration, President Trump’s green light triggered much-needed federal resources to help storm-ravaged communities with public safety and recovery efforts. FEMA will administer Public Assistance funding for eligible governments and non-profits in 16 counties, including Jones, and Hazard Mitigation assistance statewide.

     Gov. Reynolds also requested federal individual assistance for Iowans in 27 counties, also including Jones.

     FEMA’s Individual and Households Program would provide financial assistance for homeowners and individuals to help with disaster-related recovery needs, such as grants to help pay for temporary housing, emergency home repairs, uninsured personal property losses, and medical expenses caused by the disaster. This requires a review of damage assessments for each county.

     President Trump so far has approved individual assistance for Linn County. He visited Cedar Rapids, the hardest-hit city in the eye of the storm, to hear directly from Iowans and learn more about the damage to property and critical infrastructure in the community. I joined Gov. Reynolds, Sen. Joni Ernst, Ag Secretary Mike Naig, and local civic leaders to discuss the catastrophic damage to homes, businesses, and farms.

     The pandemic and power outages compounded the tremendous hardship to manage massive debris cleanup and repairs for personal and public property and provide humanitarian assistance for displaced residents requiring shelter and food services. Despite around-the-clock heroism of line crews, first responders and volunteers, the President learned first-hand how the derecho overwhelmed state and local resources.

Q: How has this natural disaster impacted the fall harvest?

     A: For generations, Iowa farmers have weathered the harshest conditions Mother Nature throws our way. From deadly blizzards to drought, floods, and tornadoes, closely-knit farm communities do what it takes to protect their livelihoods. Managing risks with crop insurance help cushions fallout from natural disasters and just pulling together – neighbor helping neighbor – is part of the social fabric of rural America.

     As a lifelong family farmer, I’ve seen plenty of damaged crops and livestock lost to disease and natural disasters. However, the historic derecho delivered an unfathomable path of destruction the likes of which I’ve never seen in my decades of farming and public service. In the days after the storm, I met with Iowans and surveyed field and property damage across the state. Despite dry conditions and drought, the USDA estimated corn yields in Iowa would average 202 bushels per acre prior to Aug. 1. Ten days later, the derecho flattened corn stalks in more than half of the state’s counties, impacting about one-third of the state’s crop acres. According to the Iowa Department of Ag, more than 57 million bushels of commercial grain storage were damaged or destroyed. We also know a comparable number of bushels were lost with on-farm storage. Thankfully, USDA has an emergency farm loan program that assists farmers to recover from destroyed grain bins. Removing, replacing, and repairing grain bins will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Marketing decisions for farmers may be impacted if grain storage is scarce at harvest time.