State of Emergency: Residents still recovering following August derecho
LA PORTE COUNTY, Ind. -- Aug. 11, 2026, a day that will be etched in the minds of Northern Indiana forever.
La Porte County residents Daniel Caldwell, Kathy Mowiser, and Keagan Browder, are among the many victims who suffered damage from the storm.
"As soon as we heard the sirens, everything started happening. The wind picked up, the rain, the lights, everything went out," Caldwell recounts. " I don't know if you noticed, but my chair is electric. So, after three days and not having electricity, I didn't have a chair."
Caldwell has a 6-year-old son who helped him around his home. However, what he really needed help with was money. So, he reached out to FEMA for assistance. After waiting several days and not hearing anything back, he tried calling.
"They said I basically got lost in the shuffle." Caldwell says he's yet to receive funds from FEMA, but after reactivating his application, he's eager to hear some good news.
A few miles down the road, Mowiser's home is in ruins. "I’m supposed to be displaced. Like I shouldn't even be living in my home, but it's hard because I have three dogs."
Mowiser, among the thousands who have applied for aid, has received funding from FEMA within two to three weeks of being approved.
Julie Joseph, FEMA representative, says so far, FEMA has paid "more than 153 million dollars to Hoosiers." Aid is also available for those who are uninsured and underinsured and can receive multiple payments "depending on what you're eligible for," she explains.
Browder, a Kingsford Heights resident, says he's eligible for assistance for relocation. However, this move comes with grief—he was hoping to raise his family in his childhood home of over 30 years. Water damage caused black mold to develop in his home, making living there unsafe for his family.
"It's just sad. It's kind of you know bittersweet having to leave somewhere that you've been and you grew up," Browder says. "I don't know if I'm coping well with it, but I'm coping. I got a family to look after, so I'm coping."
While many have already received their deposits from FEMA, others, like Caldwell, are still waiting. Thankfully, other resources like the Small Business Administration (SBA) offer up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in physical injury and economic injury damage loans.
Jen Tobey, Elkhart County EMA Executive Director, explains that FEMA is wanting state and local governments to "[take] responsibility for their county" when responding to natural disasters. This coincides with FEMA's latest recommendation in May stating, "Disaster response should be locally executed, state or tribally managed, and federally supported."
The report goes on to say that "States and local governments are on the frontline of recovery efforts following a disaster incident." After asking the FEMA representative how states should prepare for future storms, no further information was given. However, Tobey says that helping the community to help get families "as close back to a new normal as possible" is her main priority.
For victims, recovery is now in process. While it will take time, many can rest assured that relief will not be an out-of-pocket cost.
Although the deadline to apply for FEMA aid and assistance has passed, survivors can still get support with more recovery programs by visiting DHS: August 2026 Disaster.