PIERRE - Gov. Mike Rounds on Saturday asked for a presidential disaster declaration for the 22 counties hardest hit by the storms and subsequent flooding of May 4-5.

The request is part of the process for receiving federal disaster funds.

If the president agrees to issue a declaration, up to three-fourths of the eligible costs to repair public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and sewer systems could be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The state will cover the rest.

A preliminary damage report shows more than $5 million in damage to public infrastructure in the affected counties.

There is no timeline for the White House to act.

The counties are: Aurora, Beadle, Brown, Brule, Bon Homme, Buffalo, Clark, Day, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jackson, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Marshall, McCook, Miner, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink, Tripp and Yankton.

"The storms that roared through earlier this month caused a significant amount of damage to personal and public property. We've already requested help from FEMA for people who suffered home and property damage. Now were looking for assistance in getting our communities put back together," Rounds said in a written release.