The derecho disaster on August 10, 2020, in Iowa, swept across 10 million acres of croplands, damaging houses, settlements, and businesses and destroying many trees. The windstorm traveled at a staggering 110 miles per hour, leaving half a million Iowans without power and many homeless in its wake. 

The disaster declaration requested $3.9 billion to cover damages across the state. Only $45 million was approved, the funds were limited to debris removal, cleaning, repair, and replacement of damaged government and non-profit facilities.

Even though the relief fund targeted many counties (Boone, Cedar, Clinton, Benton, Johnson, Linn, Marshall, Jones, Jasper, Muscatine, Dallas, Tama, Polk, Story, Scoot, and Poweshiek), the disaster was not treated with the same severity as a tornado.

Federal funding is often made available for hazard mitigation, including prevention and measures to help eliminate the long-term effects of such disasters. However, these funds state used for tornado-related efforts, not recognizing derecho disasters.  The state disaster declaration is still in effect to aid those struck by the derecho (and qualify) in 25 counties. However, this is still insufficient for the more than 60,000 houses and businesses affected. 

The damage caused by the hurricane's strength force winds is much more widespread than typical flood damage. There are many aspects not covered in insurance policies, such as food spoilage and the clearing of debris. More individualized assistance must be made available to help those suffering.

A rough estimation of derechos and tornado occurrences in Iowa shows that the state is more susceptible to derecho disasters and windstorm damages than floods and tornadoes. Given this information, laws should be passed to expand relief funds to include individual assistance due to any natural disaster.