By Casey Smith
Indiana Capital Chronicle
August 21, 2026
Indiana has asked the federal government to expedite a major disaster declaration that could unlock additional aid for Hoosier residents and communities across 54 storm-damaged counties.
Gov. Mike Braun signed and submitted the request to President Donald Trump on Thursday night, earlier than state officials had expected to complete their damage assessments.
Braun said Friday that a federal decision would typically take at least a week, but his administration is seeking a faster review by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“I would hope that it doesn’t take seven to 10 days,” Braun told reporters. “That is typical, and the other issue will be: does it reach the threshold of what other recent similar disasters have had to reach in terms of whether we get it or not? I’m optimistic.”
The request covers severe weather that began Aug. 11 and remains ongoing, according to documents released Friday by the governor’s office.
Braun’s letter said the system produced at least three confirmed tornadoes, flash flooding and extreme straight-line winds. Wind speeds reached up to 99 mph near Gary and gusted up to 75 mph in LaPorte, Marshall, St. Joseph and Starke counties.
Repeated rounds of intense rainfall followed, with six to nine inches reported in many areas over 24 hours. The highest reported total was at least 11.23 inches.
The White River reached record levels in Anderson and Noblesville, exceeding the previous high set in 1913. The river also reached major flood stage in several locations.
State officials reported eight deaths and three documented injuries. At least 44 structures were destroyed, 959 sustained major damage, 520 had minor damage and 217 more were otherwise affected.
Power outages peaked at 363,398 homes and businesses. Lake County experienced a 95% outage, while the communities of Flora and Camden in Carroll County lost power entirely, the letter said.
Hundreds of Hoosiers were evacuated, including at least 200 in Delaware County, 300 in Henry County and 400 in Madison County. At least 63 schools experienced closures or delays, and numerous roads were closed because of flooding or washouts.
In Hamilton County, a Hazel Dell Parkway bridge collapsed and washed away amid flooding and backflow from the White River.
Early estimates put residential property damage at roughly $550 million to more than $5 billion across at least 22,164 parcels.
Those estimates do not yet include every affected county, however, and Braun’s letter warned that the damage total is expected to rise as additional information becomes available.
In Marion County alone, local officials estimated that as many as 2,000 structures were possibly damaged or destroyed and that damage and response costs could exceed tens of millions of dollars.
Indiana seeking federal storm assistance at time when Trump wants to scale it back
Twenty-two counties had declared local disaster emergencies as of Thursday.
Braun wrote that the storm’s severity and magnitude had overwhelmed the capabilities of state and local governments.
The request seeks both individual and public assistance. Individual assistance can help residents with uninsured or underinsured losses, while public assistance can reimburse governments and certain nonprofit organizations for eligible recovery costs.
Indiana specifically requested access to the federal Individuals and Households Program, crisis counseling, disaster unemployment assistance, disaster legal services and Small Business Administration disaster assistance.
The filing asks the federal government to continue direct assistance authorized under an earlier presidential emergency declaration, saying state and local resources are insufficient to respond to the disaster.
That emergency declaration, previously approved by Trump for 53 counties, supports immediate response efforts but is capped at $5 million. A major disaster declaration would make substantially more federal help available.
“This is a more granular approach that’ll help entities, families that were displaced, losing their home, underinsured, no insurance, that type of stuff,” Braun said Friday.
The governor’s office said Braun has also pressed utilities to restore power in northwest Indiana, directed additional relief money to affected families and secured more time for eligible residents of Lake and Porter counties to seek replacement Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for food lost during outages.
State emergency grants of up to $5,000 are available to help affected households cover immediate needs. Short-term emergency housing vouchers and hotel assistance have also been activated.
The request said at least nine state agencies were deployed, 18 shelters served hundreds of people and 171 American Red Cross responders participated in relief efforts. Indiana 211 has been used to collect damage reports and identify unmet needs.
“If granted, this declaration will mean significantly more resources to accelerate Indiana’s recovery from the recent severe weather,” Braun said in a statement. “I will do everything in my power to ensure Hoosiers have the resources needed to recover.”
This story has been updated with information from Gov. Mike Braun’s letter to federal officials.
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