Teams assess damage after Southwest MI tornadoes

PORTAGE, Mich. (WOOD) — Teams are working to assess the damage caused by last week’s storms in Southwest Michigan.

Their findings will help the state decide whether to ask for federal aid after four tornadoes, including two EF2s, touched down May 7. The EF2 that hit Portage destroyed at least 60 buildings, most of them homes, authorities have already said.

Inside woodtv.com: Southwest Michigan tornadoes

On Wednesday, the teams — which include representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small Business Administration and the Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division, as well as local officials — started assessing some of the hardest hit areas in Kalamazoo, Branch, St. Joseph and Cass counties.

They’re looking at the damage, speaking with residents and working to “paint a picture of exactly what this disaster did across the state of Michigan,” according to Lauren Thompson, public information officer for MSP EMHSD.

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“We’re out doing joint preliminary damage assessments with the state and FEMA,” Thompson said. “So what that is, basically, is the storms went through. It caused a lot of damage. Since then, residents have been reporting damage. Local officials have been collecting the damage. So now we are out putting our eyes on the damage and officially documenting it. And then we’ll take all the damage and put it into a large assessment, which will then help determine whether or not the state of Michigan requests a federal disaster declaration from the president.”

According to Thompson, six teams are out Wednesday: three in Kalamazoo County, with the remaining three in Branch, St. Joseph and Cass counties. They will continue their work Thursday.

Preliminary assessment: Portage tornado destroyed 60 buildings

“The damage is glaringly obvious,” she said. “This has been a life-changing event, destroying homes and landscapes forever.”

Beyond visually assessing the damage, teams will also be having conversations with residents.

“We’re looking for a couple things. One, what is the damage to individuals’ living structures? We want to know whether or not people are displaced from their home, whether or not they have insurance, whether or not they have resources in order to recover from the storms,” said FEMA spokesperson Mark Peterson. “And from there, we’ll take that information and provide it to the state of Michigan, who will make a decision about whether or not it’s beyond their ability to recover without federal assistance.”

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Peterson emphasized that any federal assistance would not take the place of insurance or other forms of aid.

“Regardless of the outcome of federal assistance, people should not wait to recover,” he said, suggesting that residents start cleaning up, taking pictures to document the damage and reaching out to insurance.

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“In the event that FEMA’s individual assistance program were to be requested by the governor and be approved, the type of assistance that we would be looking at is potential repair or rebuilding to individuals’ homes, or potential assistance to help people relocate temporarily while those repairs are being made,” Peterson explained.

The Small Business Administration is also considering low-interest loans to small businesses and homeowners, according to Peterson.

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Last week’s tornadoes, Thompson says, underscore just how important it is to be ready for severe weather.

“Here in Michigan, while we’re not in Tornado Alley, I think we’re learning the lesson that we need to be prepared,” she said. “Think about your everyday life. If a tornado came right now, what would I do? What would my plan be?”

Though the assessment is only expected to take two days, Peterson says FEMA will be available as long as needed.

CURBSIDE DEBRIS PICKUP

The city of Portage announced Tuesday that it has hired the College H.U.N.K.S. junk hauling and moving company to help pick up tornado debris. Starting May 29, they’ll be at work inside the boundaries of a yet-to-be-announced cleanup zone. The city said starting next week should give residents time to get their debris to the curb. People should split up their debris based on federal guidelines:

Residents can take hazardous waste to the Kalamazoo County Household Waste Center on Lamont Avenue in Kalamazoo.

The city reminded people that the curbside pickup is only for storm debris, not for getting rid of stuff caused by tearing down damaged buildings. Your insurance company should help you cover the cost of demolition cleanup.

— News 8’s Demetrios Sanders contributed to this report.

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