SPRINGFIELD — Governor JB Pritzker announced that the federal government approved his request to add Menard County to the state's emergency disaster declaration. The emergency disaster declaration provides financial aid under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance program to local jurisdictions for eligible storm related losses or costs incurred in response to the December 10 storm.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), an EF-2 tornado touched down a half mile east of Atterberry causing significant structure damage. The NWS reports high-speed winds led to downed trees, powerlines and other damages throughout central Illinois and the metro east.
The following counties were approved under the federal emergency disaster declaration: Bond, Cass, Coles, Effingham, Fayette, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike and Shelby.
Under the Public Assistance program, FEMA awards grants to assist state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations with the response to and recovery from disasters. Under the guidelines of the PA program, local jurisdictions can be reimbursed for up to 75 percent of eligible costs.
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