DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The federal government denied Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ request for assistance after a six-story apartment building partially collapsed roughly one month ago, leaving three dead, many injured and dozens displaced.
A federal agency “determined that the severity of the situation does not warrant an emergency declaration that provides supplemental federal emergency assistance,” according to a June 28 letter that Reynolds posted on social media.
Reynolds issued an emergency proclamation the day after the Davenport, Iowa, building’s partial collapse to deploy state resources to the response. She sent a formal request for a federal emergency declaration the following week, estimating the response to be at least $5 million and asserting it was “beyond the capability of the State and the affected local governments.”
Reynolds said a second request is still pending.
More than three weeks after the west wall of the building crumbled, most of the remaining structure had been dismantled and the focus shifted to clearing the site, which the city said could take several weeks. Hazardous materials like asbestos are likely in the debris and pose a risk to nearby buildings.
