WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has issued a major disaster declaration for six counties along the Missouri River in northwest Missouri.
The action taken Friday will allow federal funding to flow to families, businesses and public agencies that have suffered losses in Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Holt, Lafayette, and Platte Counties. The communities have been hit with severe storms and flooding.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency says damage surveys are continuing in other areas, and more counties may be designated disaster areas after the assessments are fully completed.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says the declaration means that Missouri families will get needed support to more quickly recover and rebuild from the flooding. He says the state will "continue to move forward together."