President Barrack Obama has declared a national disaster in the wake of an April snow and ice storm that ravaged parts of South Dakota.
The declaration comes following a request by Governor Dennis Daugaard.
Preliminary estimates show the April storm left over 11-million dollars in damage to seven counties across the state.
The declaration includes the Pine Ridge Reservation where record snowfall totaled nearly 27 inches. Federal help is also aimed at Sioux Falls where an ice storm brought down trees and power lines across the city. The storm left more than 115-thousand people without electricity.
A disaster declaration authorizes the federal government to provide recovery assistance for up to 75 percent of the eligible costs.
The federal declaration comes in a string of disasters over the last decade, from flooding, to blizzards, to extreme weather along with one of the worst droughts in state history.
