After Delmont tornado climate denier Daugaard mulling perpetual disaster area

“Mother nature is only warming up.”

South Dakota's GOP governor has been called "incompetent" and "uninterested in governing."

'Thank God I'm alive': 9 injured, no fatalities in Delmont tornado.

Candidate Dennis Daugaard drew gasps from a State Fair audience in 2010 when he said: “I am skeptical about the science that suggests global warming is man-caused or can be corrected by man-made efforts."

The Natural Resources Defense Council has been pushing FEMA to adopt a policy like this for a long time now — not necessarily to play “gotcha” with climate deniers, but because including the climate change, and the way it intensifies natural hazards, in disaster preparedness plans just makes good sense. [Salon]

Another former GOP South Dakota governor built a self-insured home in a swamp known for flooding then blamed the US Army Corps of Engineers for his mistake. Now his religious leader ridicules climate denial.

Sloppy record keeping continues to plague counties prone to flooding.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to put Union County on probationary status with the National Flood Insurance Program starting in mid-May unless it addresses what it calls program deficiencies. FEMA officials say the county does not have adequate record keeping and has failed to manage development in the floodplain. FEMA says inspectors have found homes with basements on the floodplain. Basements are banned in floodplain areas. [Associated Press]

Litigation costs to federal agencies are straining budgets especially from frivolous lawsuits like those brought by Dakota Dunes resident and Republican, Dan Lederman.

Daugaard leadership voids have left emergency responders and fire departments in the lurch.

As South Dakota's GOP governor, whose party voted to impeach President Obama, begins the process of begging the White House for more money to mitigate red state failure the lone US Representative retreats into obscurity and the state falls further into the abyss.

Finally, yes, we need to improve housing for those in tornado alley. That’s a great thing for blogs that don’t focus on climate to write about. Just as obviously we need an aggressive strategy for reducing carbon pollution that also supports real adaptation. [Climate Progress]

A trustworthy or competent US Representative would call out the failures of the Daugaard regime but making South Dakota a perpetual federal disaster area is the only way Republicans know how to pay the bills.

My home state deserves better.

The 13.5" in Rapid City, SD is the 2nd largest May snowstorm. The record is 14.6" set May 3-4/1905 #sdwx

— NWS Rapid City (@NWSRapidCity) May 10, 2015