An assessment of damage caused by recent storms is underway in Buchanan County and other areas in the region.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorities toured the Buchanan County area Wednesday.
“We’re doing what’s called preliminary damage assessments,” said Merideth Parrish, FEMA Region 7 Public Affairs Information Officer. “Essentially what we’re doing is we’re looking at the impact from the storms that began on May 15 and are still continuing. Public assistance has us look at impacts to public infrastructure so that could be everything from roads, to bridges, public facilities if they were impacted.”
Buchanan County Emergency Manager Bill Brinton said authorities toured damage in areas near the Remington Nature Center, the trail north of the St. Joe Frontier Casino, 29th street and 28th street in town and then roads in the Eastern District and Western District.
“We’ve seen all different kinds of damage,” Brinton said. “On Lower Dekalb road the road is completely washed out. Probably about 100 feet across is completely missing.”
Parrish said FEMA is evaluating around 22 counties in Missouri that have sustained damage from recent storms. She said most of those areas are in the northwest and northeast parts of the state.
“We’re trying to basically paint a picture to see the size, scale and the scope of the impact of the disaster, ” Parrish said. “This is just the data collection stage, once all that data collection is done we turn that information back over to the State Emergency Management Agency and together they with the governor will look at that damage and say is this beyond the state’s budgetary ability, capability resources to be able to assist local jurisdictions and counties in recovering and repairing and rebuilding after a disaster? If it is then the governor then has the option to submit a federal disaster declaration for public assistance dollars.”
FEMA Region 7 serves the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska
“A couple of weeks ago we did finish up the same type of damage assessment for Kansas,” Parrish said. “This week we are focusing on Missouri. We will break for the holiday and then we will start up again next week.”
Parrish said this process is just an assessment, not a guarantee that federal aid is coming.
“We try to get the damage assessments done pretty quickly,” she said. “As we’re collecting data we’re sending it to the state so they can begin their process of compiling their data for all the counties cumulatively so they can begin that review with the governor. That governor then takes that time and that information he has to review that data and works with FEMA together to put that request in should he choose.”