Braun: Federal Aid Coming After Indiana Storms

INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mike Braun says President Donald Trump intends approve Indiana’s request for a presidential emergency declaration after severe storms caused widespread wind and flooding damage across the state, at a news conference Saturday.

Braun and Indiana Department of Homeland Security Executive Director Jonathan Whitham gave an update Saturday on the state’s response. Officials confirmed five fatalities connected to the severe weather.

Braun said he spoke with Trump about the disaster and that FEMA is working to expedite the declaration process.

“Five fatalities recorded over that stretch of time,” Braun said, crediting state and local agencies for their response.

Braun said the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indiana State Police and Department of Correction were among the agencies involved in the response.

“All hands were on deck for Indiana,” Braun said. “This is about as widespread of a weather issue as we’ve had in years.”

Braun said a Black Hawk helicopter was placed on standby in case it was needed for rescue or surveillance operations.

The governor said the federal emergency declaration process typically can take four to five days, but Indiana’s request has been expedited after state officials and members of Congress pushed for federal assistance.

“This is a really special kind of weather event,” Braun said.

Braun said the state is in a strong financial position to respond, pointing to its reserves, rainy day fund and budget surplus.

“Resource-wise, we’re probably in the best shape we’ve ever been in as a state,” Braun said.

He urged residents affected by the storms to first contact local officials and first responders, then work with their insurance companies.

“Homeowners, if you’ve got insurance, you need to get with them right away,” Braun said. “Underinsured and uninsured will be where that federal nexus comes in to help.”

Whitham said the presidential emergency declaration would primarily speed up the response and recovery process.

“This declaration that we’re talking about today, this emergency declaration, is just going to expedite that response phase, so we’re going to get to the recovery quicker,” Whitham said.

Whitham thanked Braun and Trump for working with FEMA to move the request forward.

“I’m very thankful to Gov. Braun, to the president, for pushing this through with FEMA,” he said.

Whitham called the storm a historic event for Indiana, comparing it to the major flooding the state experienced in 2008.

“This is a historic event for Indiana,” Whitham said. “We had the floods in 2008. That was the sort of previous record, or potentially previous record.”

Whitham said the state should expect an extensive cleanup and recovery operation that could stretch across much of Indiana.

“I expect this to be a very extensive cleanup and recovery operation, almost statewide,” he said.

Braun declared a statewide disaster emergency earlier this week as officials assessed damage from the storms.

Whitham said the damage has been reported across Indiana, from one end of the state to the other.

“We know there’s impacts all across the entire state, from corner to corner,” Whitham said.