Cass County Declares State of Emergency Following Storm Damage Assessment

Preliminary Damage Assessment Training
Credit: Cass County Sheriff’s Office

Due to a severe storm on May 12th and the subsequent damage, the Cass County Board of Commissioners declared a state of emergency on May 17th. By using the new Preliminary Damage Assessment Training and technology learned less than 24 hours prior, Cass County was able to jump into action.

Training on how to conduct a preliminary damage assessment was conducted by Cass County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Management on May 11th. Current procedures and capabilities were also discussed in a conducive forum. 42 people from multiple jurisdictions attended the training, including Cass County cities, townships, county staff, homeland security, and several other neighboring emergency staff.

The new computer-based tracking system called Survey 123 helps jurisdictions see and assess the areas of damage. Attendees were provided the a training scenario to familiarize themselves with the system. Staff are able to see a real-time map with updated information and can determine if state or federal damage assistance is required.

Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch says this training is “crucial and beneficial as a step in helping communities and jurisdictions prepare for storms or natural disasters and the aftermath.”

With this training and information, the damage sustained during a May 12th storm was able to be assessed. There is an estimated reported cost of $87,638.17 in damages, exceeding the required threshold of $61,635.30. As such, the county board declared a state of emergency on May 17th. The county will request HSEM assistance.