Oklahoma price tag from spring severe weather adding up

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The rain has finally stopped falling, but Oklahoma’s emergency managers are still adding up the cost for repairing damage caused by severe storms and torrential rainfall in May and June.

Days of downpours washed out roads, damaged bridges, flooded parks and contributed to a rockslide that blocked a heavily traveled portion of Interstate 35 between Oklahoma City and Dallas.

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management director Albert Ashwood says the federal government has catalogued about $75 million in damage, but he’s said it could reach $200 million and be five years before the full cost is known.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency pays 75 percent of recovery costs with state and local governments splitting the rest. The State Emergency Fund has a balance of just $13.6 million to pay the state’s share.