INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Members of Indiana’s congressional delegation sent a letter Friday to President Donald Trump to support Gov. Mike Braun’s request for a major disaster declaration.
The request, submitted by the governor on Wednesday, came after a series of severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that began Aug. 11.
While the delegation thanked the president for quickly approving initial federal emergency help, they say more resources are needed to handle the widespread and historic damage.
The letter said at least eight people died and more than 1,000 families had to leave their homes because of the weather.
Power outages peaked at more than 360,000 customers, the letter said, and Northwest Indiana was among the hardest-hit areas, where tens of thousands of people still did not have electricity on Friday.
Across the state, the letter said, more than 1,700 structures were destroyed or damaged. Flooding forced hundreds of water rescues and evacuations as roads and bridges washed out. In Anderson and Noblesville, the White River broke flood records that had stood since 1913.
Hundreds of homes along the river in Indianapolis also had to be evacuated, the letter said.
“The damage has created needs on a scale that communities cannot reasonably meet on their own,” the delegation wrote in the letter. “A Major Disaster Declaration would provide the additional federal resources needed to support that work and help families and communities through the weeks and months ahead.”
The lawmakers also pushed for the approval of a separate disaster declaration request for storms that happened between June 6 and June 26. They noted that many communities, particularly in Northwest Indiana, were still recovering from the June storms when the August weather hit.
The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Todd Young and Jim Banks, along with U.S. Reps. Frank J. Mrvan, Rudy Yakym, Marlin Stutzman, Jim Baird, Victoria Spartz, Jefferson Shreve, André Carson, Mark Messmer and Erin Houchin.
