Officials said mobilizing state resources has so far been largely unnecessary because of the “phenomenal” response to the disaster by local communities.
Officials with the state Department of Emergency Services said in a statement Monday that they do not have a dollar amount for disaster damages yet, nor do they know the full number of homes that were impacted. There have been three confirmed fatalities from the storms as of Monday, all in Enderlin in Cass County, where one of several tornadoes hit.
Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring in a Monday statement noted reports of damage to agricultural infrastructure, in addition to previous reports of homes, outbuildings, vehicles, trains and electrical infrastructure being damaged.
“I have received reports of extensive damage to farms, grain handling systems, grain bins, equipment in buildings and irrigation systems, as well as significant damage to powerlines in our communities,” he said. “We recognize the extreme challenges our producers will face this harvest season with little capacity to store grain at harvest time. We will continue to work with the governor’s office and local communities to help assess the impacts.”
DES Recovery and Mitigation Chief Justin Messner told the Tribune that DES is working with county and tribal emergency managers as well as the state’s rural electric cooperatives to coordinate the disaster response and relief efforts, collect information on the extent of public infrastructure damage and provide resources should communities need them. So far, he said, the communities have not needed them. This is both because the storm, while damaging, could have been worse, and because local governments and community members stepped up to support their neighbors, according to Messner.
“The volunteer response in North Dakota, like always, has been phenomenal,” he said. “It's such a close-knit community up here, and we all take care of each other. But I think that was a big part of why additional resources may not have been requested. It's just because the local governments help take care of each other, and ... the residents of North Dakota help take care of each other.”
Messner said volunteers responding to a press release from Cass County have already arrived in Page and Hunter with chainsaws and loaders to help with debris removal; others have provided meals to those impacted by Friday’s storms.
Page as of Monday afternoon was still without power but was able to source a generator locally to provide electricity to the local high school and set up a command post for recovery efforts where community members can get water, food or a shower, according to Messner. He said it is expected that Page will have power restored in roughly 7 to 10 days, and is hopeful that debris removal across the state will be finished in the “next few days.” A command post has also been established in the city of Hunter’s ambulance hall.
“We've reached out to the communities to see if there was any need to open up shelters and help house people overnight,” Messner said. “And they haven't had anybody that needed to be sheltered because either people were able to move back into their homes right away or are staying with friends and family.”
DES Strategic Communications Chief Alison Vetter told the Tribune that, so far, when local emergency managers have asked for resources such as generators, the department has been able to connect them with local resources.
A statewide disaster and possible federal assistance
Gov. Kelly Armstrong also lauded local communities' response to the disaster in a radio interview on Monday.
Armstrong's spokesman Mike Nowatzki told the Tribune that “Local officials have done a tremendous job of responding and helping their citizens recover, and ... the state stands ready to assist when needed and requested."
On Saturday, the governor declared a statewide disaster and activated the State Emergency Operations Plan in response to the damage.
Armstrong’s office said it has been in contact with North Dakota’s congressional delegation and the White House to discuss federal assistance for the disaster.
Nowatzki said the first step toward getting federal disaster assistance is assessing the damage caused by the storms and determining whether it meets the threshold for a presidential disaster declaration request. The declaration would allow the state to draw on Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal resources to aid in recovery efforts.
Messner said the state has 30 days following a disaster to submit a presidential disaster declaration request. In this case, that means the deadline is July 21.
There are two main assistance programs the government can provide — public assistance, which would help the state repair or replace damaged public infrastructure, and individual assistance, which would monetarily support individual North Dakotans impacted by a disaster.
Messner said the dollar amount associated with the damage to rural electric cooperatives alone would probably be enough to qualify for a federal disaster declaration, so he feels it is likely that the state has more than enough damage to qualify for public assistance from the federal government. Whether it is granted is a different story.
“I do know, nationally, there's been a lot of discussions about changes to federal programs and thresholds, but as of right now, we're working off of what's currently in policy, and based off of that I do feel like we would have more than enough dollar amounts to request a disaster,” Messner said. “If it gets approved or not, on the back end, that I don't know. I mean, that's kind of the unknown at this point, but we'll definitely do our best to get everything submitted, make sure that we're doing everything properly per federal policy, and then we'll hopefully get the (federal) disaster declared after that.”
He said it is unlikely that the state will meet the monetary threshold required for individual assistance, largely because most of the cost of damages shouldered by North Dakotans will be covered by insurance companies.
How to reach out for resources
To help North Dakotans navigate the insurance process and any legal challenges that stem from the disaster, Messner said DES is setting up a recovery resource page on its website that will have the contact information for the North Dakota Insurance Department and Legal Services of North Dakota.
DES encouraged impacted homeowners to contact their local emergency managers or the Red Cross at 1-800-733-27677 ( RED CROSS ). Messner said the Red Cross has already started visiting each home in impacted communities to determine what types of damage they experienced.
DES has also worked with the ND Community Foundation to set up a financial donations page. Any financial donations will be provided to the impacted communities and homeowners to assist with the disaster recovery and unmet needs.
North Dakota State University Extension encouraged homeowners to carefully inspect buildings on their property for damage following the storm. While some damage can be easily spotted, some can be difficult to find without closer inspection and can even make the building dangerous to enter.
“If the building has been moved, shifted or twisted, it may not be safe to enter,” said Ken Hellevang, NDSU Extension agricultural engineer and professor emeritus.
Sagging in the floors or roofs and cracks in the roof, floor or ceiling can indicate unsafe structural damage.
Messner said that there is always room for improvement in disaster response but that he is optimistic about the whole recovery process.
“Hopefully, at the back end, everybody can be made whole, and anything that doesn't get covered by any other kinds of programs, we'll try to take a look at and see what types of assistance we can provide at that point, as well,” he said. “But I'm extremely optimistic, and I think everybody's efforts on this whole thing have been absolutely awesome.”
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