Peace Garden News

Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, along with Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak, have announced their support for Governor Kelly Armstrong’s request for a major disaster declaration in response to severe storms that hit North Dakota on August 7–8. The storms brought tornadoes, large hail, and winds reaching up to 100 mph to eastern and south-central parts of the state.

The event resulted in power outages for more than 16,000 residents and caused close to $6 million in damages to electrical infrastructure. Homes, farms, and businesses also sustained significant damage. The delegation called on the Trump administration to quickly approve the disaster declaration so that federal assistance can be made available for recovery efforts in Barnes, Grand Forks, Griggs, Kidder, Nelson, Steele, and Stutsman counties.

“While North Dakotans are extremely resilient, the August 7-8 severe storm system, coupled with the previous June 20-21 derecho event, has compounded the need for federal recovery assistance in areas of our state…We support the State’s request and respectfully request you approve it as soon as possible so the necessary Federal resources can be made available to North Dakotans,” wrote the delegation.

This latest appeal comes after a prior letter from the same group supporting a disaster declaration following the June 20–21 derecho storm. That earlier event caused over $11 million in damages across 19 counties.

Full text of the delegation’s letter can be found here.