President Donald Trump has approved a federal disaster declaration for Nebraska following the severe winter storm that struck the state on March 18-19, causing an estimated $64.8 million in damage, mostly from downed power lines and utility poles.
The declaration, requested by Governor Jim Pillen in mid-April, covers 27 counties, including Lancaster, Douglas, Sarpy, and Dodge.
“This was a significant storm… I appreciate President Trump’s attention to Nebraska and his approval of this disaster request,” Pillen said.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the peak outage in the state during the storm was reported at 119,199 customers without power. At one point, an estimated 30 traffic signals were without power or damaged due to the storm in Lincoln.
The declaration unlocks federal funding to help public entities recover costs tied to the storm. The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is now coordinating with local emergency managers to begin the aid process.