County declared a ‘disaster’

Gov. Terry Branstad issued a disaster proclamation Monday for several Northeast Iowa counties, including Chickasaw, that were hit by flooding last week.That means residents are eligible to receive aid from the Iowa Individual Assistance Program, which provides up to $5,000 to households that meet income guidelines to cover repairs, debris removal and other household losses.“It’s an important first step,” Chickasaw County Emergency Director Ken Rasing said, “and you can’t get the federal [disaster declaration] without this.”Under the state declaration a household whose income doesn’t exceed 200 percent — $48,600 for a family of four — of the federal poverty level can receive aid from the Iowa Individual Assistance Program.Rasing estimated 20 homes at the most, mostly in the Jerico area, received damage after up to 7 inches of rain fell on the county last week.But while the flooding affected a relatively small amount of residential damage, the same can’t be said for county roads.Chickasaw County Engineer Dusten Rolando raised his original flood damage estimate from $350,000 to “close to $450,000” this week and the county parks system also suffered close to $50,000 damage.For the complete story see the 9/2/2016 New Hampton Tribune.