Douglas County is eligible for federal disaster assistance after the President declared a major disaster exists in Nevada and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts.

The county and state declared emergencies as a result of the severe winter storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides March 8-19.

Federal disaster assistance is available to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in Eureka, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral and Storey counties, in addition to Douglas.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Maona M. Ngwira has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Additional designations may be made if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further assessments.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Declaring an emergency starts the process that allows the state to spend money in support of local and tribal governments.

“It tells the federal government that we are not in normal operations, signaling that we may need additional assistance,” Nevada Emergency Manager Dave Fogerson said in a March 18 Record-Courier story.

Fogerson said a declaration alerts residents of potentially dangerous situations.

“More importantly to me, it signals to the public that something is going on,” he said. “We all struggle to gain public awareness for emergencies. When we issue a declaration, it shows we are not business as usual.”