The October Atlas blizzard wreaked havoc on Western South Dakota. The significant amounts of snow, ice, wind, and frigid temperatures cost Rapid City an estimated 3.1 million dollars in clean-up costs. Although FEMA is pitching in on those costs - that federal assistance covers less than half the bill.
The Atlas blizzard left parts of the Black Hills immobilized for days. Downed power lines and trees lined many streets and City officials and residents were left with large amounts of debris to clean-up after the storm finally blew through.
Rapid City Mayor Sam Kooiker says chipping all those trees and branches, along with picking-up, hauling, and disposing of them cost the city a sizeable chunk of change.
But he says thanks to a FEMA pilot program, Rapid City is receiving 1.35 million dollars towards the bill - slightly more federal assistance than in the past.
“Rather than getting seventy-five percent across the board reimbursement we were able to get eighty-five percent reimbursement for costs submitted within that first thirty-day window. So this is very good news for the City and for our region,” says Kooiker.
The 1.35 million dollars represents eighty-five percent of the estimated cost of eligible clean-up for the first thirty days after the storm. The state and city are expected to pay the remaining fifteen percent.
Kooiker says the FEMA money is arriving here in South Dakota in a timely manner.
“Had we not participated in the pilot program it would have been a flat seventy-five percent reimbursement and it could have taken a long time – many months - maybe even years to receive the reimbursement, but because we participated in the pilot program it was an incentive for us and for FEMA to move a lot faster and we were able to receive a large down-payment on the over-all cost, plus the citizens saw the benefit of a faster clean-up,” says Kooiker.
Mayor Kooiker says additional requests for help with remaining clean-up costs are being submitted to FEMA.