Trump Approves Federal Aid for Oklahoma Tornado Recovery
President Donald Trump approved federal aid this week to help the state rebuild from tornadoes that hit last November.
President Trump declares a major disaster took place in Oklahoma in early November when two tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma City and the surrounding area.
The move opens up funding for rebuilding in 8 counties.
And lawmakers planned accordingly during the last legislative session. They created a state disaster relief fund and seeded it with $45 million meant for matching the feds.
Oklahoma Emergency Management officials report the November storms cost state and local responding agencies around $7.5 million in public assistance damages. Eight hundred forty homes were damaged, 151 of which were totally destroyed.
Disaster declarations – which usually occur much closer to the related event – depend on state requests to the president based on damage assessments the president has sole discretion to make them.
The disaster declaration by Trump applies to tornado damage caused in November, not the fire emergency of the past week. Emergency management officials say the full fire damage assessment is still in progress. They are working with federal officials to determine potential aid.
Spring Outlook: Drought Likely to Persist in Southern Plains
Spring is here and scientists say it’s unlikely the Southern Plains will see much rain throughout the season.
Drought is forecast to develop or persist in central and western Oklahoma between now and mid-June.
The U.S. Spring Outlook from the National Weather Service shows dry conditions are likely across most of the southern plains.
The projected dry and warm conditions come as the state recovers from a deadly few days of wildfires fueled by high winds and low humidity. The National Weather Service says much of the nation will likely experience above-average temperatures over the next couple of months.
The report says moderate-to-exceptional drought conditions currently exist across more than 40% of the U.S.
USDA Emergency Funding Available To Oklahoma Farmers, Ranchers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is issuing up to $10 billion in direct economic assistance to farmers and ranchers.
The department announced enrollment for the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program opened Wednesday.
The funds are through the American Relief Act, which became law in December.
It passed alongside the Farm Bill extension, and the USDA had a 90-day deadline for distributing the $10 billion dollars.
The payments are to help eligible farmers cope with increased input costs and falling commodity prices for the 2024 crop year.
That deadline was approaching this week, and some farmers were waiting for the funds. Experts from the University of Missouri estimate Oklahoma producers could receive almost $300 million dollars.
Applications will close Aug. 15.
Oklahoma Health Department Launches Measles Update Page Amid Outbreak
The Oklahoma State Department of Health is launching a central location for measles updates on its website. This comes after the agency has identified four probable measles cases in the state.
Case summary updates will occur on Tuesdays at noon. They will include total cases, both probable and confirmed, hospitalizations, deaths and the vaccination status of cases. It will also detail potential public exposure notices as they are identified.
If there are no new cases to report, there will be no update on the site. The web page also includes frequently asked questions and kindergarten survey vaccination data.
All four probable cases reported in the state occurred among unvaccinated individuals and were associated with the Texas and New Mexico outbreak, which has so far infected over 300 people.
Oklahomans can visit the site at Oklahoma.gov/health/measles.
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