Citizen Loss Reports from the Winter Storm

The State of Washington issued a press release regarding reporting losses from the recent winter storm. It suggests that you contact your local emergency management office in addition to your insurance agency.

Information to have on hand includes:

• Name and address of the affected property.


• A description of damage, even if it insured.


• A personal estimate of losses that will be uninsured.


• An estimate of the fair market value of the damaged home or business.


• Keep records of all clean-up and repair costs and, if possible, document with photographs.

For loss reports here in Clark County, please contact our Damage Reporting Line at 360-737-1911, ext 3972 and leave your name and a phone number where we can return your call on the next business day between the hours of 8a-5p. (Our offices will be closed on 1/1/09.)

Your information will be recorded on a spreadsheet here in our CRESA office which will be forwarded to the State of Washington for consideration should they apply for federal assistance to assist in the recovery from this storm.

If federal assistance programs do become available, we will continue to update this blog with the latest information. Please realize that despite the collection of this information, we can offer no guarantees that federal assistance programs will become available to cover your loss.

Reporting Farm Losses due to the Winter Storm

Farmers suffering damage to their farms and production losses due to the storm need to report the damage and losses to their local USDA Farm Service Agency offices.

The local Farm Service Agency in each county rolls up the information and reports it to the Washington USDA-Farm Service Agency office in Spokane. They compile the information and assist the Director of the Washington USDA office in asking the Governor to request a USDA Secretarial Agriculture Disaster Declaration.

Even though a Presidential Disaster Declaration may not be warranted, a USDA Secretarial Agriculture Disaster Declaration may be declared. The reports of damage and losses from the farmers are vital in making that determination. If no damage or losses are reported, USDA Disaster Assistance may not be made available.

In Clark County, please contact our local Farm Service Center Office at:

LOWER COLUMBIA FARM SERVICE AGENCY
11104 NE 149TH ST BLDG C
BRUSH PRAIRIE, WA 98606-9565
(360) 883-1987
(360) 885-2284 Fax

Mailing Address:
11104 NE 149TH ST BLDG C STE 500
BRUSH PRAIRIE, WA 98606-9401

Businesses Should Report Economic Losses

We have been fortunate that the recent snow storm has not caused a significant amount of reported damage throughout Clark County; however, because of the timing of the storm, the economic losses could be relatively high.

One of the types of disaster assistance programs that is offered by the Small Business Administration involves economic injury or loss. In order for the State of Washington to qualify for this type of assistance program, we need businesses to substantiate their estimated economic losses during this storm.

Please fill out the form on the right side tool bar and fax it to CRESA Emergency Management at 360-694-1954 by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 2nd, 2009. We will compile the Clark County data and provide it to Washington State.

Completing this worksheet does not obligate you to apply for an SBA loan. It merely quantifies the economic impact to businesses by this weather event and allows the Governor to make a request for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans for those businesses that need and want it.

Following the submission of our local data to the State of Washington in February, we will provide updated information here on the blog should disaster assistance become available locally. We will also attempt direct contact with each of the submitting agencies regarding next steps if SBA assistance is granted.

Enjoying the Snow

When the weather forecasts start getting "frightful," I'm often asked about how many hours I (Cheryl Bledsoe) will be having to work as an emergency manager. My common answer is: "well, we'll see what it brings and whether there are any significant emergencies to support."

In the Pacific Northwest, we don't get a lot of winter weather. And, it seems that when it is in the forecast, there is a rush to think that it, by itself, is going to be an emergency. However, while the wintery weather provides some enhanced response by our public works and transit agencies, we have to remember that, given the type of work that they do, responding in all sorts of weather is what they excel at and are well-trained for.

An "emergency event" by our local working definition is an event that either overwhelms emergency response resources and/or presents needs that don't have existing or clear solutions which require a coordinated, multi-agency response.

For "declared disaster" events with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), we need to see uninsured damages or overtime response costs piling up over $1 million dollars.

If we, as community members, are well-prepared for what the winter weather brings, we may experience the weather, but it may or may not create an actual "emergency" situation.

Our emergency management staff are working hard to monitor both the weather conditions and our local community for signs of trouble requiring emergency coordination. And while wintery weather requires a little more advance planning and coordination, we encourage folks to remember that it can be fun, too!