Over the past eight months, North Dakota has been approved for multiple funding awards that total almost $27 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for both disaster recovery and resilience projects, including in May 2026 with almost $9 million in COVID-19 relief for a medical center in Bismarck, and over $846,000 earmarked for four specific repair projects across the state due to severe summer storms last year.
According to a press release from FEMA on May 14, the government organization has approved $11.5 million in funding to support recovery in Montana, North Dakota and Utah, reimbursing states for costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This regional funding is part of FEMA’s announcement of $5.6 billion in federal assistance to states, Tribal Nations and territories for COVID-19 and disaster recovery. Sanford Bismarck in North Dakota was awarded $8.8 million to hire temporary medical staff through contracts to help reduce or eliminate the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
In a May 19 press release from U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), FEMA announced funds in the amount of $846,128.55 to support repairs and debris removal efforts from severe storms in June. Cramer and the North Dakota delegation wrote a letter to President Donald Trump requesting he approve the major disaster declaration. The funding will support the following projects and recovery initiatives across the state:
• $331,809.26 to Kidder County to fund the replacement or repair of embankment, signage, surfaces, and other damages.
• $244,405.18 to the city of Jamestown to fund jurisdiction-wide debris removal.
• $167,951.61 to Pingree-Buchanan School District to fund building exterior repair or replacement.
• $101,962.50 to Valley City State University to fund the replacement or repair of athletic fields, covered shelters, and lighting.
“While the State of North Dakota put numerous resources and measures in place to protect its residents prior to, during, and after the derecho event, the storm system caused unavoidable damages to infrastructure and property, and tragically took the lives of four North Dakotans,” wrote the delegation. “This disaster not only destroyed North Dakotans’ homes and businesses, but negatively impacted our farmers and ranchers, as well as rural electric cooperatives. Critical buildings, equipment, silos, grain bins and elevators were damaged or lost just months ahead of the fall harvest. … We believe our state is a great example of how to effectively and efficiently respond and recover from disasters.”
Two separate requests for presidential major disaster declarations were made by Gov. Kelly Armstrong in the aftermath of multiple storms which struck the state in June and August of 2025. The disaster declarations were both approved a few months later by Trump in September. Mary Steurer of the North Dakota Monitor reported in December 2025 that the state expects to receive roughly $17.8 million in federal disaster relief aid.
According to information provided from Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s office, the June storms spawned more than 20 tornadoes, resulting in four storm-related deaths and causing more than $11 million in damage to public infrastructure as well as significant damage to utilities, grain bins, homes and other private property. The August storms produced tornadoes, large hail and destructive winds of 70 – 100 mph, knocking out power to more than 16,000 residents across south-central and eastern North Dakota.
The declarations cover the counties of Barnes, Burleigh, Cass, Eddy, Emmons, Foster, Grand Forks, Grant, Griggs, Kidder, McLean, Morton, Nelson, Oliver, Ransom, Sheridan, Sioux, Steele, Stutsman, Traill and Wells.
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