Severe weather strains relief coordination

Emergency managers face many challenges during and after severe storms, but a flood of volunteers and donations is often a welcome one.

Even so, when major disruptions, widespread destruction, injuries and loss of life strike a community, county officials must be swift to warn them off to avoid complicating rescue and recovery scenes and help well-meaning neighbors avoid injury. 

“Please do not come here, do not try to help,” Newton County, Ind. Sheriff Shannon Cothran told viewers on social media March 10 as he surveyed the site of a tornado in Lake Village that evening that killed two residents, a married couple in their 80s. 

“We appreciate your help, we appreciate your thoughts and prayers, let the first responders do what we need to do,” he said. “Give us some room.” 

The previous few days had marked tornadoes in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas, killing an additional six people, including four in Michigan and two in Oklahoma. Kankakee County, Ill. Was hit by hailstorms, with chunks of ice measuring up to 6 inches, a pending state record.

When the help comes, it’s important to be specific about what crews and victims need and how best to collect it. Newton County designated the Lake Township Community Center as a donation drop-off site, for both rescue and recovery supplies and for food donations for workers. But Commissioner Abbey Rossiter also advised residents on what not to send. 

“Until a need is seen, please avoid any donations of clothes, cash or gift cards,” she said in a March 11 social media video.  

When it came to money, Cothran added, banks were designated as trustworthy custodians of donations.

“We encourage people to steer clear of monetary solicitations that our social media-based or door-to-door,” he said.

The Newton County building department serves as a clearinghouse for contractors who would provide cleanup services, in hopes of helping residents avoid predatory contractors by making them register with the county.

Routines refine performance

Okmulgee County, Okla. has seen its share of tornadoes, but only one recent storm, an EF-3 that struck around 7 p.m. March 6 near the town of Beggs, has been fatal. 

Emergency Manager Jeff Moore alerted residents via social media roughly 40 minutes before the storm struck.

“Sometimes you can get 30 minutes, sometimes you’re lucky if you get two minutes’ warning,” he said.

The county received reports of victims trapped in their homes and some possible missing people. When Moore arrived near Beggs, trees and power lines covered the roadway, forcing medics to continue on foot. 

“I contacted the county district commissioner to let him know that we had road trees down and we were going to need his crews out there to start helping us get through,” Moore said.

The local fire department had bulldozers on hand for wildland firefighting, and they cleared the roads. Then came the linemen from the electric co-ops to restore electricity. 

“We quickly shifted into recovery mode, assessing what we had and figuring out what roads to close to keep people out,” Moore said. “Some people want to check out the damage, others want to show up to help out. It’s best to have civic organizations direct the volunteers.”  

In Oklahoma, county commissioners are responsible for maintaining the roads and bridges in their districts, and Moore and his staff ensure the commissioners don’t inadvertently repair private roads. If needed, Moore initiates the permit process to establish a dump site for debris.

Having the commissioner on hand helps expedite approvals for expenditures. Moore noted that it is easy for expenses to climb to $250,000 in the middle of a recovery operation.

“The first 48 to 72 hours are focused on making sure those families are taken care of, making sure the power is back on, the water’s going, making sure we can get county workers to clear the roads so we can access homes,” Moore said.  

The routine is borne out of necessity, because Okmulgee County has been struck by 10 tornadoes in the last two years. But it also imbues a sense of civic pride in the volunteer effort, either supplying victims or feeding emergency responders.

“We’re Oklahoma. It’s what we do,” Moore said. “It’s controlled chaos, but everybody knows their role. The linemen can take care of themselves, but we want to make sure we’re taking care of them anyway.”

The elementary school was damaged more than a week before spring break, so the nonprofit Project Camp came to set up a pop-up camp to offer trauma-informed care for the children.

As routine as tornado response is for Okmulgee County, emergency workers need to recover themselves, and facing the first loss of life in his tenure as the county’s emergency manager — a married couple, whose son and girlfriend were also injured in another building on the property — Moore knew to expect to feel the loss when his adrenaline fades.

“I haven’t had my big breakdown yet, but I know it’s coming,” he said.