Mayor Brandon Johnson has issued a disaster proclamation for the city to assist residents recovering from the storms and flooding that swept the Chicago area earlier this month.
A round of weekend storms followed by another wave of heavy rains affected thousands across Chicago and the suburbs between Aug. 16 and 19.
A disaster proclamation allows the city to pursue “all available resources” to assist communities and residents in their recovery efforts, the Office of Emergency Management & Communications (OEMC) said in a news release Tuesday evening.
“Issuing this disaster proclamation is a necessary step to address the severe damage from recent floods in Chicago and Cook County that especially affected our most vulnerable neighborhoods,” Johnson stated in the release.
In the wake of the storms, residents were asked to complete a flood assessment to determine the extent of storm-related damage.
As of Aug. 22, 4,359 surveys had been filled out by residents across Chicago and suburban Cook County, which showed there were 32 residences considered to have been destroyed, 1,893 residences considered to have sustained major damage and 1,827 residences that suffered minor damage, per OEMC.
The proclamation was the second Johnson has issued this month.
On Aug. 6, Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle issued disaster proclamations in response to storms and subsequent flooding that rolled across the region in July.
According to OEMC, some areas of the city still recovering from the July storms were impacted again by this month’s bout of torrential weather.
