Iowa Governor Branstad Signs Disaster Proclamation, Mahaska County Reaches Out

This pick-up truck was damaged during storms that raced across Benton County around 3:30 am on Monday morning July 11th (Photo Submitted)

Des Moines, Iowa – Gov. Terry E. Branstad today issued an emergency disaster proclamation for Benton County in response to Monday morning’s severe weather.

In the early morning hours of Monday, July 11, 2011, severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornados passed through Iowa causing downed limbs, trees and power lines. Benton County officials have requested state assistance in recovery efforts.

National Weather Service in Des Moines has some winds from the storm at the strength of an EF1 tornado (110 mph Southwest of Dysart), but were caused from straight line winds called a Derecho. This derecho event began in Central Iowa and traveled across Eastern Iowa, Illinois, Lake Michigan, Michigan and ended in Ontario, Canada.

The governor’s proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of these storms.

Mahaska County CERT along with volunteers from Oskaloosa Fire Department and New Sharon Fire & Rescue and Mahaska County Public Health. Many of them will be spending their second day in Benton County today.

Yesterday CERT, and the Fire Departments were in charge of clearing the roads so the utility workers could make their way back in. The Mahaska County Teams worked on cleaning up all the big trees, while Emergency Manager Jamey Robinson also assisted the county as a paramedic for the day.

For more information, please visit www.Governor.Iowa.gov or www.mahaskaready.com