The Allen County Board of Commissioners will declare a state of emergency this week because of damage from Friday's storm, asking state and federal officials to help with more than $1 million in cleanup.
The commissioners would draft a letter Monday asking the state to grant emergency status, which would require at least $1.2 million in damages in Allen County and $7 million statewide, Commissioner Nelson Peters said at a news conference.
He said county officials are confident the extent of damage from Friday's powerful storm will qualify the county for state and federal aid. The commissioners will call a special session this week to make a formal emergency declaration, he said.
If state officials grant emergency status, it likely would take at least another two months for Allen County, Fort Wayne, New Haven and any other affected government to be reimbursed for cleanup expenses, Peters said.
Peters said the money would come from both the state government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The storm that rolled through northern Indiana on Friday created wind gusts up to 91 mph and left more than 100,000 people without power, including more than 80,000 in Allen County.
