WEBSTER COUNTY, Iowa — About two miles west of downtown Harcourt, officials in Webster County brought out a drone to assess storm damages from Wednesday.
Like much of Iowa, Webster County was hit pretty hard by the historic winds and storms that passed through. As of Friday night, the National Weather Service has confirmed 21 tornadoes touched down.
Using pictures from the drone, officials will be able to get a better assessment of the damage. Those pictures will then be sent to the federal government in hopes of getting funds from a presidential declaration of emergency.
"We're trying to get a better view of what's going on from the sky obviously we can get good pictures from the ground but it's always helpful to have a toy like that to get up in the sky and get a better view of what actually happened," said Dylan Hagen, the management coordinator for Webster County Emergency Management.
RELATED: Storm aftermath: National Weather Service confirms 6 more tornadoes, bringing Iowa total to 19
As of Friday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has issued disaster proclamations for 50 of Iowa's 99 counties, including Webster. Residents can apply for state assistance to help with clean-up efforts.
A police officer Local 5's Mary Sugden spoke with said one of their main concerns after the storm was all of the downed power lines in the area. Crews are working hard to get those lines back up for folks to have power.
Alliant Energy said they are working hard to get the power back on by Friday night.
Watch more coverage of Dec. 15's historic storms on Local 5's YouTube channel