Saturday, March 03, 2007
Governor Culver Commends Statewide Storm Response Efforts
Governor Provides Latest Update on Storm Cleanup
(Des Moines) Governor Chet Culver and Lt. Governor Patty Judge commended city, county and state emergency personnel, along with Major General Dardis and members of the Iowa National Guard, for providing critical aid and response to the recent storms. They are also pleased with the hard work done by the investor and municipal-owned utilities, along with the Rural Electric Co-Ops to get power back to the tens of thousands of Iowans affected by the ice and wind storm over the last week.
"I want to thank everyone, including the media for communicating the seriousness of the storm, the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other volunteers for helping those displaced, and the National Guard, law enforcement and line workers who will help things get back to normal," said Governor Culver. "I also heard countless stories of business owners opening their doors and offering assistance to those in need, and they should be commended. Here in Iowa, we have a tradition of helping your neighbor when the going gets tough, and I am proud to say that time and time again our tradition was upheld over the last week."
Below is an update on the progress of the storm cleanup.
NATIONAL GUARD UPDATE:
- The Iowa National Guard continues to provide assistance in support of relief operations.
- There are currently 502 active soldiers and airmen activated for state and active duty.
- 47 Highway Assistance Teams (HATS) are working with the Iowa State Patrol and Iowa Dept. Of Transportation officials, providing emergency assistance to motorists.
- 42 Community Assistance Teams/HATS continue performing door-to-door well-being checks.
POWER OUTAGE UPDATE:
- As of Saturday morning, 9,461 people were still without power. The vast majority should regain electricity by the end of the day Sunday.
- Exceptions will be Hawkeye Coop in Cresco area and those individual or small pockets of outages that require a lot of work to get customers back on line.
SHELTER UPDATE:
- As of 5 a.m. Saturday, March 3, 2007, 63 shelters and warming centers were open in the State of Iowa. Total occupancy was 218 persons. 140 additional shelters where on standby.
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE:
- For those Iowans who qualify for emergency assistance to cover out-of-pocket costs associated with the storm, information on how to apply will be outlined by the Department of Human Services early this coming week.