FEMA Officials Wrapping Up Assessments In Dodge County

(Dodge County) Federal and state officials are wrapping up their assessment of flood and tornado damage in Dodge County. It’s the first part of the process for Wisconsin to get federal disaster funding. Individual Assistance Teams from FEMA, the U-S Small Business Administration joined emergency management officials in tracking damage to private homes in Watertown on Tuesday before moving on to Beaver Dam, Fox Lake, Brownsville, Lomira and Waupun on Wednesday. Dodge County Emergency Management Director Amy Nehls says while they do not go inside home, officials look outside homes, review pictures, look at nearby residences and conducting oral interviews.

On Thursday, Public Assistance Teams from FEMA and the state Department of Natural Resources assessed damage to municipal infrastructure throughout Dodge County. Nehls says officials are verifying damages and clean-up estimates for facilities and utilities, roads and bridges, and emergency response costs. All of that information was assembled by local officials into a binder prior to the involvement of federal officials, who are now verifying the numbers which could be removed.

Dodge County’s preliminary damage total for public infrastructure was around $340-thousand dollars. The minimum to be considered for federal assistance for Dodge County would be $326-thousand dollars. Nehls says federal officials are essentially reviewing the numbers provided by Dodge County and if the preliminary numbers are scaled back by any significant amount, the county could no longer qualify.

FEMA officials will not have final damage assessment numbers until next week when they announce which parts of the state will be eligible for federal assistance.

 

Listen to our conversation with Amy Nehls: