Gov. Heineman Announces Update on
Efforts to Assess Storm Damage
(Lincoln, NE) Gov. Dave Heineman announced today that officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will arrive in Nebraska on Wednesday, May 17. They will join officials from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nebraska Health and Human Services System in assessing the damage from last week’s storms.
Gov. Heineman has already declared a state of emergency in Adams and Hall counties. Other counties affected by the storms will be added as the damage is assessed. The declaration was the first formal step toward fully assessing the storm damage and making decisions on whether state or federal aid can be successfully pursued. These more individualized and specific assessments are another important step. Crop damage reports are also being compiled.
“Our state and county-level emergency management employees are working hard to make sure we get this assessment done in as timely a manner as possible,” Gov. Heineman said. “We understand and respect the urge to move expeditiously, but we must take care to correctly assess the damage so that we can learn whether Nebraska qualifies for federal disaster assistance.”
NEMA officials hope to have a clearer picture of what aid the storm-affected parts of central Nebraska might qualify for by the middle of next week. No credible statewide damage assessment was available, and gathering one could take several weeks.
State emergency management and public health employees spent much of today training for the upcoming initial assessments, which could take days to complete. Federal officials are expected to convene in Lincoln early Wednesday and then head to central Nebraska, where they will tour damage to public infrastructure in Adams, Buffalo, Hall, Hamilton, Howard, Kearney, Merrick, Saline, Seward, York, Fillmore, Frontier, Phelps and Gosper counties.
Assessors will also travel to Adams, Buffalo, Hall, Hamilton, Merrick, York, Frontier and Gosper counties to perform individual damage assessments.
