Nebraska Lt. Gov. Mike Foley has signed a disaster declaration to make state emergency money available to pay for damage caused by severe wind storms earlier this month.
The state declaration is required before Nebraska can request a federal disaster declaration for public assistance. Foley signed the declaration at the direction of Gov. Pete Ricketts, who is out of the state.
The Dec. 15 storm knocked down power lines and trees around the state and officials say they’re still conducting damage assessments.
Assistant Director Erv Portis of NEMA, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, says that based on confirmed damage, the state will likely qualify for the federal public assistance program but not the individual assistance program