(Washington) -- One of KMAland's congressional representatives is awestruck by the devastation from this week's massive storm.
"We think Iowa has seen everything, and when it's storm that nobody's heard of, we know it's something else."
That's how Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne describes her reaction to the derecho which ravaged most of Iowa Monday, destroying homes, businesses, vehicles and farm fields. The West Des Moines Democrat contacted mayors in the communities impacted by the storm Tuesday to begin the process of landing federal assistance. Speaking on KMA's "Morning Line" program Wednesday morning, Axne says she was "heartbroken" by the damage in the 3rd Congressional District, and across the state.
"The damage is devastating," said Axne. "You know, we have a lot of issues here in southwest Iowa. Throughout Iowa in general, it's really bad, and even further north--major, major problems. So, there's lots to address here. So, I'm prepared to fight for any federal resources we need from FEMA or other resources to help in these recovery efforts."
Axne says the disaster comes at time when local and state goverment is still dealing with the financial impact of COVID-19.
"This is a very random event--very devastating," she said. "It's a reminder of just how much we rely on our local and state governments to jump in, and quickly get into action in an emergency situation. It goes back to why I'm fighting so hard to get state and local funding out to our localities in Iowa through disaster relief from COVID."
The congresswoman says local governments need disaster aid in order to meet storm damage recovery expenses, plus those associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
"This is another example of why we've got to support state and local funding," said Axne. "This is an expense that's going to come out of our cities, our towns' pockets, which are already depleted by COVID, and I have grave concern about how we're going to address those ongoing financial needs. We could break the backs of many towns in our districts, and I want to make sure to fight for that money."
Axne lauds Governor Kim Reyolds for issuing state disaster declarations for counties hit by the storm, and hopes that a federal declaration is forthcoming. You can hear the full interview with Cindy Axne on our "Morning Line" page at kmaland.com.
