President Trump Approves Major Disaster Declaration for North Dakota Following Severe Storms
President Donald Trump has approved North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong's request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration, unlocking federal FEMA assistance for rural electrical cooperatives and municipal infrastructure battered by summer tornadoes and 100-mph winds.
Choseno Civic News Desk September 4, 2026 2 min read US
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BISMARCK, N.D. — President Donald J. Trump has formally approved North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong’s request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration, unlocking critical Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) public assistance grants to help rural counties, municipal utilities, and electrical cooperatives repair catastrophic infrastructure damage caused by severe early-summer storm systems.
The presidential authorization responds to joint damage assessments conducted across central and western North Dakota following a violent severe weather outbreak that generated multiple confirmed tornadoes, straight-line winds exceeding 100 miles per hour, and baseball-sized hail. The extreme weather snapped hundreds of transmission poles, severed high-voltage distribution lines, damaged municipal water treatment facilities, and left more than 25,000 residents without electrical power across several rural counties, resulting in millions of dollars in public infrastructure damage.
Under the approved disaster declaration, FEMA’s Public Assistance program will provide a 75 percent federal cost-share reimbursement to local governments and eligible non-profit utility cooperatives for emergency debris removal, protective emergency measures, and permanent infrastructure repairs or replacements.
Governor Armstrong, who personally surveyed affected counties alongside local emergency managers, thanked the White House and North Dakota's congressional delegation for securing swift federal approval.
“North Dakota communities showed incredible grit and resilience in the immediate aftermath of these destructive storms, working around the clock to clear obstructed roadways and restore vital power grids,” Governor Armstrong said in an executive statement from Bismarck. “We are grateful to President Trump for promptly granting our disaster request. This federal assistance provides essential fiscal relief to our rural electric cooperatives and county highway departments, ensuring local property taxpayers do not bear the full financial brunt of emergency repairs.”
North Dakota U.S. Senator John Hoeven, alongside Senator Kevin Cramer and Representative Julie Fedorchak, actively advocated for the disaster designation, emphasizing that rural utility providers operate with limited cash reserves and require federal cost-sharing to rebuild hardened electrical grids without escalating consumer utility rates.
“Our rural electric cooperatives and local emergency personnel performed heroically under hazardous conditions,” Senator Hoeven said. “Securing this major disaster declaration ensures that our local entities receive the federal reimbursement necessary to rebuild resilient power distribution lines and repair critical transportation corridors across impacted counties.”
State emergency management officials with the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (NDDES) will host applicant briefing sessions in the coming weeks for county commissioners, municipal administrators, and cooperative executives to begin submitting formal project worksheets for federal reimbursement.
