Montana Governor Gianforte has officially declared a statewide disaster on the morning of June 14. The declaration was made in response to the flooding in Park, Stillwater, and Carbon counties, with flood risk still serious in other parts of Montana. This declaration indicates that our emergency situation exceeds Montana's response capabilities, and calls for additional outside help.

Photo by Cara White
Photo by Cara White. Community members fill sandbags in Fromberg, MT.
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In his statement, Gianforte says,

“With rapid snowmelt and recent heavy rains, communities in south-central Montana are experiencing severe flooding that is destroying homes, washing away roads and bridges, and leaving Montanans without power and water services. Today’s disaster declaration will help impacted communities get back on their feet as soon as possible, and I have asked state agencies to bring their resources to bear in support of these communities.”

The Montana Disaster and Emergency Services and Federal Emergency Management Agency are working together on steps going forward to help these communities rebuild and recover.

The affected counties are seeing help from agencies like Two Bear Air and the National Guard assisting with air rescues. Park Country Search and Rescue is helping with swift water rescues. Many local volunteers and emergency workers, including law enforcement, healthcare workers, and city maintenance workers, remain hard at work.

Credit KBZK YouTube video screenshot.
Credit KBZK YouTube video screenshot.
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For more updates on road conditions, you can visit the Montana Department of Transportation. 

As a reminder: in case of emergency, call 911.
Non-emergency questions can be answered at 406-222-4131.
The American Red Cross can be reached at 1-800-272-6668 in regard to Bozeman's shelter location at 2152 Graf Street.
You can also sign up to receive real-time emergency alerts on your phone through Nixie by texting your zipcode to 888777.

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