Marshall County Commissioners declare Local Disaster following severe storms

Monday, August 17, 2026 at 12:00 PM

By Kathy Bottorff

The Marshall County Commissioners have signed a local disaster declaration following multiple rounds of severe weather that have battered the county over the past week, causing widespread tree damage, multi-day power outages, and flash flooding across the region.

The commissioners approved the declaration at their August 17th meeting on the recommendation of the Marshall County Emergency Management Agency (EMA). The declaration, also known as a state of emergency, will remain in effect for one week and expires at noon on August 24th.

Governor Mike Braun has already declared a statewide disaster, and FEMA has agreed to provide emergency response assistance to several Indiana counties, including Marshall. However, EMA Director Jack Garner emphasized that this is not assistance directed to impacted Marshall County residents — that determination will be made by President Donald Trump at a later date.

The local disaster declaration is a critical step in the process of seeking federal reimbursement. Due to costs related to debris removal, emergency response, and infrastructure damage, Marshall County and its municipalities may qualify for partial federal reimbursement through the Public Assistance (PA) program. Marshall County EMA has already been in contact with other units of local government to encourage them to track costs associated with the storms. A county must declare a local state of emergency in order to continue through this process.

EMA has also conducted preliminary damage assessments on impacted residential and commercial structures. The agency is encouraging county residents to continue reporting structural damage, as those reports may help the county qualify for Individual Assistance (IA) directly to impacted residents. Damage reports can be emailed to ema@co.marshall.in.us.

Garner expressed gratitude for the efforts of first responders and utility workers who have endured long hours in difficult working conditions to keep the public safe. He also extended sympathy to nearby counties that experienced significant wind and flood damage.

Incident-related updates will continue to be posted through the Marshall County EMA Facebook page as the recovery process moves forward.