Cowley County was included in a recent request for FEMA funds to help with costs associated with severe weather.
On Aug. 5, a pop-up storm with straight-line winds estimated at 80 mph hit Winfield that morning and brought down trees, blew over the Ferris Wheel and more at the Cowley County Fair, caused extensive, widespread property damage and took out power.
Some residents were without power for days or longer across the city and surrounding area.
Governor Laura Kelly sent a letter to President Joe Biden through the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sept. 8, requesting a major federal disaster declaration for the state due to damages sustained in multiple Kansas counties by several rounds of severe weather, the state said.
From June 27 through Aug. 8, Kansas was hit with multiple severe thunderstorms that included strong damaging winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, large hail, and tornadoes.
“Over that two-month period, many Kansas counties experienced some sort of severe weather,” Kelly said. “The damages inflicted by these storms have severely affected the safety and livelihoods of Kansans across the state. I have ordered the adjutant general to activate the disaster response and recovery portions of the Kansas Response Plan and to use all available resources of the state to cope with the disaster, as necessary.”
The governor is seeking public assistance for the following counties to repair vital infrastructure: Allen, Barber, Barton, Chautauqua, Cheyenne, Clark, Comanche, Cowley, Edwards, Finney, Ford, Franklin, Graham, Gray, Greely, Jefferson, Jewell, Johnson, Kearney, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Mitchell, Nemaha, Norton, Osborne, Pawnee, Phillips, Rawlins, Republic, Rice, Rush, Russell, Seward, Sherman, Stafford, Sumner, Thomas, Wallace, Washington, Wichita, Woodson, and Wyandotte.
Kelly said the total federal expenditure is expected to meet or exceed $18.7 million.
