Disaster declaration for 20 Iowa counties following storm that flattened acres of crops, closed highways, took nursing home roof

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued disaster proclamations on Tuesday for 20 counties that suffered widespread damage during Monday's severe storm.

"Many of our neighbors have had their lives drastically impacted, whether it's through injury or damage to their livelihoods," Reynolds said at a Tuesday morning news conference. "Kevin (Reynolds' husband) and I join with all Iowans in extending our thoughts and prayers to them and their families. And of course, the state pledges its support to do whatever we can to support them in a quick recovery."

Reynolds' declarations cover Benton, Boone, Cedar, Clarke, Clinton, Dallas, Greene, Hardin, Iowa, Jasper, Johnson, Linn, Marshall, Muscatine, Polk, Powesheik, Scott, Story, Tama and Washington counties as of Tuesday evening. 

The proclamations will allow state resources to be used to respond to the effects of the storm and aid recovery, as well as allow qualifying residents to apply for assistance from the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program and the Disaster Care Management program.

The number of counties falling under disaster proclamations grew quickly throughout the day. Ahead of her morning news conference, Reynolds' office issued a news release that six counties were under proclamations. During her news conference, Reynolds said the number had grown to 13. By close of business, the number increased to 20. 

"We do anticipate that number to grow as more counties assess the damage and their needs," Reynolds said.

Reynolds: Storm damaged an estimated 10 million acres of cropland

Monday's derecho storm brought winds as high as 99 mph to Iowa, causing damage to roofs, cornfields and cars. The extent of damage is still unknown as hundreds of thousands of Iowans remain without power nearly 24 hours after it hit. 

Reynolds said early estimates show the storm damaged approximately 10 million acres of cropland.

"This morning, I had a farmer reach out to me to say that this was the worst wind damage to crops and farm buildings that he has ever seen across the state in such a wide area," she said. 

Due to the damage and debris, the state closed portions of Interstates 35 and 380, and Hhighways 18 and 69 on Monday.

More:Iowa weather: What is a derecho?

Some COVID-19 patients evacuated

Many buildings suffered damage, including the Madrid Home for the Aging in Boone County, which lost its roof, forcing the evacuation of six COVID-19 patients. No residents were injured, although a staff member went to the hospital when a window blew out, Reynolds said. 

The Test Iowa drive-up sites in Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Marshalltown closed on Monday and remained closed, Reynolds said. She said she did not believe any tests had been damaged, and she was hoping the test sites could resume operations Tuesday. 

Iowa Utilities Board chair: Power restoration could take 'several days'

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Reynolds said there were an estimated 450,000 Iowa households without power because of downed lines and other damage. The number of Iowans without power had peaked at 550,000 Iowans on Monday, she said, but restoration for some areas could take days due to severity of the damage. 

►Outages: How long will power be out in Des Moines? 

Reynolds said Linn, Marshall and Scott counties faced an especially severe impact, and more than 22 large transmission towers were damaged in the storm. Neither MidAmerican Energy nor Alliant Energy have posted timelines for restoration, with both saying it will be a multiple-day effort. 

"While utility crews are working 24/7, at this time there is no exact identified time for restoration of service," said Geri Huser, chair of the Iowa Utilities Board. "Utility crews and emergency management officers are making customers aware that some areas of service can expect to be without power for several days as debris is cleared and downed power lines are replaced." 

Some disaster grants now available for Iowans

Iowa's Individual Assistance Grant Program can be used for home repairs, car repairs, temporary housing and replacement of food and clothing items. The program provides up to $5,000 grants for households with incomes as high as 200% above the federal poverty level, or a maximum annual income of $43,440 for a family of three. The grant applications are available on the Iowa Department of Human Services website, and applicants have 45 days to submit claims. 

Joyce Flinn, director of the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said the grant program includes replacement of spoiled or destroyed food, up to a maximum of $50 for one person or $25 for each additional person.

"I urge everyone with power outages we're experiencing, be cautious of consuming perishable foods that have been in your refrigerator for a long time during this power outage," she said. 

Everything you need to know:

• If your power is out, how long can food keep in the fridge? And no, don't grill indoors.
• How insurance companies will — and won't — help after Monday's storm
• Here's some of the worst storm damage we saw from Monday's derecho
• Have storm debris? Here's how cities are handling cleanup plans

Iowa's Disaster Care Management program, which has no income guidelines, will help people with their recovery and help them with guidance and referrals. The program is available for 180 days. More information is available at local community action associations or iowacommunityaction.org. 

A news release from the governor's office asked residents to report damage to their properties, roads and utilities to local and state officials to help the state collect more damage on the impact of the storm. 

Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.

Your subscription makes work like this possible. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.