Emporia

Disaster status declared for six more counties

Leavenworth County is among six Kansas counties to be added to the list of those receiving disaster status in connection with the severe storms that hit parts of the state early last month.

Thousands of people lost electrical power, some for up to 10 days, as a result of the ice storms Jan. 4-6.

The announcement made Tuesday by the field office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency also expands the eligibility to Brown, Jackson, Kiowa, McPherson and Pottawtomie counties.

The designation makes local governments in those counties eligible to seek federal funds to pay 75 percent of approved costs for debris removal, emergency services related to the disaster and repairing or replacing damaged public facilities such as roads, buildings and utilities.

The state is also able to seek cost-shared funding for projects to reduce future disaster risks.