YORK, Pa. (WHTM) -- Earlier this morning, York County officially issued a Disaster Emergency Declaration following severe storms last week, which included a confirmed tornado in eastern York County.
The declaration is in effect from August 20 through September 20, 2026, allowing the county to mobilize emergency resources to respond to damage caused by the storms.
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According to York County, in the declaration, Commissioners noted that these severe storms had "endangered the health, safety and welfare of a substantial number of people residing in the County of York." In addition, the declaration noted that "emergency management measures are required to reduce the severity of this disaster and to protect the health, safety and welfare of affected residents in the County of York."
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Furthermore, Officials say the declaration directs the Office of Emergency Management to coordinate the county's emergency response activities and "to take all appropriate action needed to alleviate the effects of this disaster, to aid in the restoration of essential public services, and to take any other emergency response action necessary to respond to this emergency."
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As a result of issuing this declaration, York County now becomes eligible for any state or federal disaster funding and/or low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration if they were to become available.
"Last week's severe storms created significant damage across our communities – especially in the eastern part of the county," York County President Commissioner Julie Wheeler said. "We want to ensure all those impacted have the resources they need to recover from these storms. This declaration allows the county to expedite the purchase and allocation of resources needed by municipalities for their clean-up efforts, while also ensuring impacted residents and businesses could be eligible for state or federal assistance."
This comes just days after Lancaster County had also issued its own disaster declaration, allowing the county, Columbia Borough, and other municipalities to start the cleanup process, along with applying for state and federal assistance
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