Gov. Laura Kelly has requested additional funds for disaster relief following the April 30 tornado in Westmoreland.
The governor, on Wednesday, sent a letter to the Small Business Administration requesting a disaster loan declaration for Pottawatomie County. The letter requests that the SBA provide assistance in the form of SBA disaster loans. If approved, a disaster declaration would make low-interest, long-term loans available to homeowners, renters and businesses.
Officials with the Kansas Division of Emergency Management noted that to qualify for such a declaration, the State of Kansas must show at lest 25 homes or businesses suffered major damage, with at least 40% in uninsured losses. The storm, which killed one person, destroyed 22 homes and damaged about a dozen more.