Iowa requests nearly $4 billion in disaster relief after storm

The US state of Iowa is seeking about $4 billion in disaster aid after a major storm tore across the Midwest on 10 August.
calendar icon 17 August 2020
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Reuters reports the Governor Kim Reynolds made the request for relief after the state reported significant property damage from the storm. The damage to cities and rural towns left more than half a million homes and businesses without power.

Media reports said there were at least three deaths caused by the storm in Iowa.

The storm compounded troubles for the US farm economy already battered by extreme weather, the US-China trade war and most recently, the disruption caused to labour and consumption by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Winds as high as 100 miles per hour (160 kph) hit eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and parts of Illinois in the widespread storm classified as a "derecho" by the National Weather Service.

The storm impacted 37.7 million acres of farmland across the Midwest, including 14 million in Iowa, the Iowa Soybean Association said on Friday, citing estimates from the US Department of Agriculture.

The storm affected 58,000 holders of crop-insurance policies with a liability of around $6 billion in Iowa, including $1.86 billion for soybeans, the Iowa Soybean Association said, citing data from the USDA's Risk Management Agency.

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Source: Reuters

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