‘All disaster is local’

Minnesota meteorologist Mark Seeley reports that Minnesota just finished the “wettest April, May and June in state history.” A statement he gave a few days ago on MPR listed “off-the-charts rainfall,” a June in which as many as 20 days included measurable precipitation, and high levels of saturation in the soil as a set of circumstances which worked together to create the flooding that led to regional counties and the state of Minnesota meeting the thresholds to be in “a state of emergency.”

 

Waseca area resident Denise Wright has been Waseca County’s director of emergency management for the past seven years, and held a similar position in Nicollet County for 23 years. Wright comments jokingly that the less attention her position gets, the better, since that would mean she is spending the majority of her time working on preparedness. It would also mean there have been no disasters to place her work in the spotlight.

 

When there is a disaster, Wright explains, she becomes a point of contact for getting assistance. During recent flooding, for example, her office offered sandbags to county residents and businesses who needed them. When local needs were met, she also distributed some to surrounding cities. Although this year’s situation in Waseca County did not call for it, her office is also the one which would reach out to organizations like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, or the Minnesota Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (MNVOAD) to request whatever assistance would be helpful.

 

“All disasters are local,” observes Wright. “That means we find whatever resources we can locally. If we don’t have everything we need, we start reaching out for assistance at the next level.” She explains that, if a city or township needs support, it contacts the county. If the county needs support, it reaches out to the state. If a disaster becomes state-wide, the state is likely to reach out to the federal government.

 

Because Minnesota was acknowledged as being in a state of emergency, it now means the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) will reimburse 75 percent of the cost to return damaged infrastructure to its pre-disaster level. The State of Minnesota’s Homeland Security Emergency Management (HSEM) program will pay the other 25 percent.

 

Wright cautions that the 100-percent coverage will not pay to make improvements over pre-disaster status. So, for example, if a culvert 10 inches in diameter was washed away, the amount eligible for reimbursement would be the cost of replacing the 10-inch culvert, even though it would probably be better to install a larger one to help prevent future washouts. “The local agency would have to pay the cost of any improvements,” Wright points out.

 

As various towns, townships, schools, and other public-funded entities determine the dollar amount of damage experienced due to the disaster, it is Wright’s job to collect those numbers and report them to the reimbursing state and federal agencies. FEMA and HSEM will then contact her with dates when they will conduct local reviews; In turn, Wright will notify the local leaders when and where to meet with FEMA and HSEM to present evidence–preferably “before” and “post-emergency” photos–that justify their monetary requests.

 

While all of that is easy to summarize, she observes, it entails many, many phone calls, and the collection of many, many numbers. It can take months or even more than a year for post-emergency reconstruction to be completed and reimbursement to take place.

 

When she is not dealing with emergencies, Wright explains her job is to help assure steps are taken to be prepared in case an emergency arises.

 

The description of her job, she says, is to be informed about and prepared for “natural and man-made disasters” of all types.

 

“I spend the majority of my time behind the scenes, planning and preparing,” she says. This includes attending informational sessions and keeping abreast of the newest information. It also means planning events which help people within Waseca County be informed and prepared.

 

Over time, a hundred or more people have taken the course to become members of the county’s community emergency response team (CERT): About 30 people remain active members who regularly attend ongoing training. An example of these is coming up on July 9, when there will be a practice search and rescue event.

 

Also helping with community safety is a team of more than 20 “Skywarn” trained spotters. These individuals have attended courses to help them predict whether approaching clouds and cloud formations constitute dangerous severe weather, such as hail, straight line winds and tornadoes. They stand prepared to position themselves throughout the county whenever a severe weather “watch” is issued. Classes to become a trained spotter, Wright mentions, are offered for free to the public every March.

 

Wright herself is something of a walking encyclopedia when it comes to disaster preparedness. “I want everyone to be as prepared and as safe as they can be,” she states.

 

Another part of her job is to review and update the “all hazard mitigation plan” for Waseca County. Because the plan is expected to provide information about any type of large-scale threat the region might experience, and because if the large-scale threat is not listed, it won’t be eligible for reimbursement in the case of an occurrence, the list is rather thorough. Among the natural events on Waseca County’s list are wildfire, drought, flooding, severe winter and severe summer weather, and earthquakes.

 

“That last one sounds odd, I know,” Wright admits. “But there are parts of Minnesota which have been affected by earthquakes.

 

“Disasters don’t have a specific time frame; there’s nothing a typical individual can do to stop or prevent one.

 

“But we can look for ways to be prepared.”