State officials are waiting to hear from Washington on a request for federal assistance to help recovery efforts in the wake of the flooding of the Missouri River and its tributaries.

Susie Stonner with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) says Governor Matt Blunt has already requested a Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance for 17 counties and a Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance for 19 counties – and that number might grow as state and federal assessment teams spread out.

In all, 32 counties have requested visits from the assessment teams, so the final numbers are still to be determined. Stonner says a number of other states in the Midwest have put forward requests for federal assistance and are awaiting final approval.