In early August Governor JB Pritzker was granted an extension to request a federal disaster declaration.
On Thursday he officially requested that Illinois to be issued the declaration.
The flood of 2019 may be drying up, but so are the resources from the effected communities.
Governor JB Pritzker requested more time for requesting federal assistance in early August because some of the damage was still under water.
A joint damage assessment conducted by FEMA and IEMA in August was used to update the total amount of loss the state suffered.
That amount rose to $69 million dollars state wide.
Over 1000 miles of roadways and more than 1400 homes and hundreds of businesses were affected from flooding.
State comptroller Susana Mendoza saw the damage rising waters can cause on a tour of Alexander County Tuesday.
“I’ve never seen, like the roads completely torn up, it looks like they were made of chocolate sheets which clearly they weren’t.”
As the person who pays Illinois’ bills, she has an idea of how high the repair cost may be.
“We’re talking about many, many, many dollars that are going to take to have to fix this type of thing, but more importantly I think why I’m here is because I want to see this first hand.”
Touring the effected 20,000 acres in Alexander County, Mendoza says it was an eye-opening experience.
“Mother nature is the most powerful force, sometimes for good and clearly in this situation not for good and it’s been devasting and its wreaked havoc on people and the economy of the entire region.”
The Governor requested individual assistance for 22 counties and public assistance 32 counties.
