The Minnesota Department of Public Safety announced Monday that the department’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) division has officially requested a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) joint preliminary damage assessment (PDA).

The request comes after Gov. Mark Dayton issued a peacetime emergency declaration on July 5 in response to flooding and damage caused by severe weather throughout June. Thirty-six Minnesota counties, including Mower County, and one tribal nation were listed in the declaration.

The declaration allows HSEM to submit a request to FEMA to conduct a PDA and allows HSEM to work with FEMA to determine if damages exceed Minnesota’s federal disaster threshold of $7.7 million.

HSEM has requested the joint federal-state-local PDA to begin on July 19 since floodwaters are still high in several communities and counties will need time to prepare.

Representatives from FEMA, HSEM and affected counties will review the damages sustained to public property and infrastructure to determine if they are eligible for disaster assistance.

Additional counties and tribes could be included in the PDA as conditions warrant.