After historic flooding in East River some are beginning to pick up the pieces, and others have lost everything. In some communities, recovery is only just beginning.
The flooding across southeast South Dakota is, according to the National Weather Service, the most severe flood event in South Dakota since 2019, resulting in total home losses and one confirmed death.
Jason Wescott is the emergency management director for Union County, one of the hardest hit areas.
“We’re slowly rolling into recovery phase here. We have a huge district, mainly North Shore and Penrose Drive in North Sioux (City) that has been massively devastated," Wescott said. "What we are doing currently is allowing them to go in, in timed intervals, and then they have to come back out because it’s a secured site and it’s very dangerous in there.”
That devastation has upended the lives of some residents.
“There are quite a few residences that are totally destroyed and not safe to go to,” Wescott said.
Wescott said it’s a challenging situation for everyone involved.
“It’s hard to word but have patience," Wescott said. "Lots of things are happening really fast at the state level, county level, and the city level. The general public doesn’t always see that happening, but we are working on things.”
The state Department of Public Safety is asking anyone who experienced flood damage to report it. This information is used for the state to request a Presidential Disaster Declaration. Find a link to report damage on the state's website.