Posted on May 25, 2018
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI
Starke County EMA Director J. Nier reports that FEMA crews are in the county today conducting individual assessments to determine whether or not individual financial assistance will be provided.
Nier previously shared that there was a technical issue with FEMA’s damage reporting app which resulted in the submissions from several counties going unrecorded. That led to many places not being included in FEMA’s list of counties to receive individual assistance damage caused during February’s floods.
Fortunately, the director had pictures and physical copies of damage reports that she was able to show officials to make the case that individual assistance is a necessity in the county.
Nier stated that while conducting damage assesments, she visited over 50 homes where owners reported damage. According to standards set out by FEMA, she found that 13 house were affected, 20 had minor damage and 22 houses had major damage.
FEMA crews are conducting their own damage assement today and Nier said she hopes to know whether the county will receive individual assistance at some point today. More information will be shared as it becomes available.
Showing posts with label Starke County EMA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starke County EMA. Show all posts
Friday, May 25, 2018
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Emergency Management Officials Coordinate Response Efforts For Residents Affected by the Floods
Posted on February 27, 2018
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI
As the flood waters start receding, emergency management officials are beginning to plan out ways to assist those most severely impacted by the recent floods.
The Salvation Army recently delivered a few clean-up kits to emergency management officials in both Starke and Pulaski County. Starke County EMA Director J. Nier and Pulaski County EMA Director Sheri Gaillard said they will be handing those out to the citizens who need them in the near future.
They also said they’ll be conducting more thorough damage assessments once the water recedes more. However, residents are still reminded to fill out damage assessment reports through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to assist with relief efforts. Director Gaillard said none have been received so far from Pulaski County residents.
EMA Director Gaillard added that since she initially didn’t receive any requests for an emergency shelter, one was not established in Pulaski County. However, when a couple calls came in about a few individuals being displaced, she said she directed them to the Red Cross shelters in Knox and Plymouth.
The Plymouth site has since been closed but Red Cross Volunteers report that the emergency shelter at Knox Middle School remains open. They said there will be a notice given at least 24-hours prior to shutting down. All cots and supplies have been moved to one gymnasium in order to allow other school functions to resume.
Lead Disaster Action Team Member Sherry Fagner was in Red Cross Headquarters in South Bend yesterday, working with the Mass Care Feeding League. She said that Emergency Response Vehicles will be out in multiple counties, including Starke and Pulaski, handing out food and additional clean-up kits later this week.
She added that if individuals feel there are certain things that are currently being overlooked, contact the Red Cross and they will coordinate with local officials in order to see that those needs are met. The number to call is 1 888 684 1441.
Additionally, individuals can always call their local Emergency Management Agency for more information about how to receive assistance within the county.
Pulaski County EMA: 574-946-6391
Starke County EMA: 574- 772-9182
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI
As the flood waters start receding, emergency management officials are beginning to plan out ways to assist those most severely impacted by the recent floods.
The Salvation Army recently delivered a few clean-up kits to emergency management officials in both Starke and Pulaski County. Starke County EMA Director J. Nier and Pulaski County EMA Director Sheri Gaillard said they will be handing those out to the citizens who need them in the near future.
They also said they’ll be conducting more thorough damage assessments once the water recedes more. However, residents are still reminded to fill out damage assessment reports through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to assist with relief efforts. Director Gaillard said none have been received so far from Pulaski County residents.
EMA Director Gaillard added that since she initially didn’t receive any requests for an emergency shelter, one was not established in Pulaski County. However, when a couple calls came in about a few individuals being displaced, she said she directed them to the Red Cross shelters in Knox and Plymouth.
The Plymouth site has since been closed but Red Cross Volunteers report that the emergency shelter at Knox Middle School remains open. They said there will be a notice given at least 24-hours prior to shutting down. All cots and supplies have been moved to one gymnasium in order to allow other school functions to resume.
Lead Disaster Action Team Member Sherry Fagner was in Red Cross Headquarters in South Bend yesterday, working with the Mass Care Feeding League. She said that Emergency Response Vehicles will be out in multiple counties, including Starke and Pulaski, handing out food and additional clean-up kits later this week.
She added that if individuals feel there are certain things that are currently being overlooked, contact the Red Cross and they will coordinate with local officials in order to see that those needs are met. The number to call is 1 888 684 1441.
Additionally, individuals can always call their local Emergency Management Agency for more information about how to receive assistance within the county.
Pulaski County EMA: 574-946-6391
Starke County EMA: 574- 772-9182
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
EMA Continues NIXLE Push to Aid Efforts
The Starke County EMA Department is hoping to disseminate information more quickly, but it may take some public participation.
Emergency management officials are using an online platform called NIXLE. The service – which can be accessed online – allows users to subscribe their phone and e-mail. In exchange, emergency weather information, flooding, road closures, and other events are sent via text or e-mail directly to the user.
Starke County EMA Director Jacob Lippner says this is another tool in the box.
“So if you happen to be on your computer, or have your phone in your pocket, it will send straight to you, and that makes our job a lot easier,” says Lippner. “We can get the message out a whole lot faster.”
Right now, Starke County has about 1-thousand residents signed-up for the service. That compares to the 23-thousand residents occupying the county full-time.
Lippner says that increasing that number will allow them to reach a broader segment of the community, but also provide faster and more detailed information in the case of an emergency. Some residents are unable to hear sirens in the case of a tornado in Starke County.
Ideally, Lippner says every resident would buy into the service, but says increasing NIXLE’s usage to five times the current number of subscriptions would be a considerable help.
“If we can get our enrollment numbers up, it will definitely benefit everybody,” says Lippner. “It’s just a faster way for me to get information to everybody.”
Residents can learn more by accessing the website at www.NIXLE.com. By providing a zip code, the user will automatically be linked with departments in the local area for subscription.
Lippner says he also posts information on social media about accessing the service.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
EMA Director Explains Why Plows Are Taken Off Roads
By: Ben Haut, WKVI
Published: February 18th, 2014
With recent announcements from county highway departments indicating that plow trucks were taken off the roads at a certain time, many people were left wondering why the road clearing operations are sometimes stopped in their tracks during a snowstorm, when they are most in need. According to Starke County EMA Director Ted Bombagetti, there is a reason for that, and state law plays a part.
Bombagetti said plow trucks in the county are responsible for about 95 miles; each driver, he said, is basically driving the distance from Knox to Warsaw and back, taking about six hours to do a single pass of their route. Blowing and drifting snow can greatly hinder their ability to clear the roads, causing them to be out, clearing the snow, for hours on end.
For that reason, Bombagetti said the Indiana Department of Transportation has set guidelines preventing drivers from operating their plows for more than 12 consecutive hours. After that, the trucks must be taken off the roads to allow the drivers to get some rest.
Drivers are under INDOT guidelines; can only drive for 12 continuous hours. After that, their policy is to take the trucks off the road so the drivers can get rest.
“It’s not safe to be out on the roads at night, plowing, it’s hard enough to see what you’re doing during the daytime, but you’re putting a truck at night in snow in white-out conditions, its just a recipe for disaster,” Bombagetti said.
Bombagetti said the county lost a plow truck in a white-out storm two years ago, and it took the county a year to replace that truck. If one truck gets stuck in the snow, Bombagetti said another truck has to be assigned to pull that truck out, causing two routes to be neglected.ned to pull that truck out.
“The main reason we go to the warning is, first off, it’s for everybody’s safety. Second of all, we don’t have the resources should an individual run into a problem, we can’t exercise a safety for them, and really, if they make the choice to drive in it, and they do get stuck, now we have to not only jeopardize our plow drivers but there’s a chance we have to put our first responders out on the road. So we’ve just added potential for more injuries,” Bombagetti said.
However, that doesn’t mean the roads are a no-man’s-land, even for emergency vehicles. Bombagetti said drivers are still on call in case an emergency vehicle needs to travel and get to a location quickly
Published: February 18th, 2014
With recent announcements from county highway departments indicating that plow trucks were taken off the roads at a certain time, many people were left wondering why the road clearing operations are sometimes stopped in their tracks during a snowstorm, when they are most in need. According to Starke County EMA Director Ted Bombagetti, there is a reason for that, and state law plays a part.
Bombagetti said plow trucks in the county are responsible for about 95 miles; each driver, he said, is basically driving the distance from Knox to Warsaw and back, taking about six hours to do a single pass of their route. Blowing and drifting snow can greatly hinder their ability to clear the roads, causing them to be out, clearing the snow, for hours on end.
For that reason, Bombagetti said the Indiana Department of Transportation has set guidelines preventing drivers from operating their plows for more than 12 consecutive hours. After that, the trucks must be taken off the roads to allow the drivers to get some rest.
Drivers are under INDOT guidelines; can only drive for 12 continuous hours. After that, their policy is to take the trucks off the road so the drivers can get rest.
“It’s not safe to be out on the roads at night, plowing, it’s hard enough to see what you’re doing during the daytime, but you’re putting a truck at night in snow in white-out conditions, its just a recipe for disaster,” Bombagetti said.
Bombagetti said the county lost a plow truck in a white-out storm two years ago, and it took the county a year to replace that truck. If one truck gets stuck in the snow, Bombagetti said another truck has to be assigned to pull that truck out, causing two routes to be neglected.ned to pull that truck out.
“The main reason we go to the warning is, first off, it’s for everybody’s safety. Second of all, we don’t have the resources should an individual run into a problem, we can’t exercise a safety for them, and really, if they make the choice to drive in it, and they do get stuck, now we have to not only jeopardize our plow drivers but there’s a chance we have to put our first responders out on the road. So we’ve just added potential for more injuries,” Bombagetti said.
However, that doesn’t mean the roads are a no-man’s-land, even for emergency vehicles. Bombagetti said drivers are still on call in case an emergency vehicle needs to travel and get to a location quickly
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