Longest Disaster Declaration Period Ever

Disaster declarations must include the time period in which the damages were incurred. Sometimes with successive storms that occur weeks apart, the goal for state and local emergency managers is to get the entire period included in a disaster declaration. This is many times easier said than done. Federal officials mostly want to treat separate events as separate events and exclude follow-on damages that by themselves likely don't meet the criteria. I saw a tweet from Disaster Badger about the onset of this disaster and the final declaration, 207 days!

Of minor note to no one other than myself, I see that my home county, Stephenson, was included in the Illinois disaster declaration. I'm figuring the Pecatonica River did its thing. The Pecatonica River flows into the Rock River at Rockton. I don't know which river it was, but in the fall of 1971 I could have drowned retrieving a duck I had shot from the river. there in Rockton. But, I didn't!

President Donald J. Trump Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Illinois

WASHINGTON — FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of Illinois to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms and flooding beginning on February 24 to July 3, 2019.

Federal funding is available to the state, tribal, eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work damaged by these severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding. As part of the Public Assistance program, assistance for debris removal and emergency protective measures (Categories A and B), including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding to Adams, Alexander, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Jackson, Jersey, Knox, Madison, Mercer, Monroe, Morgan, Pike, Randolph, Rock Island, Schuyler, Scott, St. Clair, Stephenson, Union, and Whiteside counties.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Nancy Casper has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Casper said additional designations may be made at a later date if warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

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