County and state government officials, fire and rescue personnel, law enforcement and disaster relief volunteers took turns to discuss tornado relief plans moving forward Friday evening at the Kennard Auditorium.
Following the discussion portion of the evening, guests were able to find more information or ask questions to panelists or organizations set up around the county: the American Red Cross, Operation Blessings, Salvation Army, Rubicon and more.
Washington County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve Dethlefs led the meeting, and shared a quote from boxer Mike Tyson.
"'Everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth,'" he said. "As a county, we were hit in the mouth last Friday — a week ago — and we got knocked to the mat. But everybody's up, everybody's fighting and I think we're going to win the rest of the rounds."
Dethlefs said since the tornado hit on April 26, the county emergency management team — consisting of Emergency Manager Dan Douglas, Sheriff Mike Robinson, Roads Supt. Dave Kruger, County Attorney Scott Vander Schaaf, Terra Uhing of Three Rivers Public Health Department, Benny Benedict with Salvation Army, Dethlefs and supervisors Kevin Barnhill and Steve Kruger — has met every day to establish plans moving forward.
Douglas spoke about the tornado's path of destruction during his portion of the discussion.
With the help of the National Weather Service, Douglas said they were able to determine the tornado entered the county at Dutch Hall Road between county roads 31 and 29, and by the time it arrived to county roads 40 and 29, it was classified as an EF-3, which means it sustained winds of 135 and 165 MPH.
When the tornado traveled to county roads 36 and 31, the tornado decreased to an EF-1, but increased in diameter to about three-quarters of a mile wide.
In the area of state Highway 133, it increased again to an EF-2 and then again to an EF-3, and was at that point a half-mile in diameter.
"By the time it exited the county by U.S. Highway 75, it was down to an EF-1 category," Douglas explained. "In their records going back to 1950, Washington County has never had anything this severe."
Douglas said no deaths were reported in the county, though six victims of the storm were injured.
Panelists discussed a variety of topics from roads, tax fraud, looting, insurance claims, health and wellness and where to find updated information.
Robinson said the Nebraska National Guard will be deployed to assist with security during the clean-up period.
Vander Schaaf noted that residents should call law enforcement if they suspect any fraudulent activities or companies appearing in the county amid the disaster.
Fire chiefs Chris Potter (Kennard) and Joe Leonard (Blair) spoke about burn permits, which are still being required for residents.
Once the chiefs receive and enter a request for burn permits, residents are then required to call Washington County Dispatch in order to receive a final approval. Approvals are granted based on the Nebraska Wildfire webpage and wind speeds.
Tetanus shots were offered to residents who are handling potentially harmful materials while cleaning up their homes via Three Rivers, and a new program with the department, CredibleMind, which focuses on mental health and wellbeing.
Maria Moreno of Salvation Army talked about the new hub for disaster relief organizations, which is located at Skinny Bones Pumpkin Patch on Highway 133. The hours of operation are currently 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
"We are here to support your community — we are here for the entire time that you need support," she said. "Please, make a trip over there. You have items that you need, whether it be wheelbarrows, tarps."
First Lutheran Church - ELCA is also acting as a donation and pick-up station for residents affected, and the Lakeland community clubhouse will be used for food operations until May 9, where it will be then transferred to Skinny Bones.
Federal funds approved for Nebraska
Also speaking at the panel was Erv Portis, assistant director for the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Portis announced that on Friday, President Joe Biden signed a declaration releasing federal funds to assist Nebraskans who were affected by the storm following a request from Gov. Jim Pillen.
"I've seen a lot of disasters... and this one ranks near the top of the bad of the bad," Portis said. "It's so many individual property owners, people in your houses, the places you live, the places you built, the biggest investments you have."
Portis said his team, along with Douglas and other county officials, made sure to expedite the federal funding request earlier in the week.
Two FEMA programs are part of this declaration: public assistance and individual assistance.
The public assistance program will be used for any public infrastructures, roads, bridges, municipal buildings and more.
"It's a very common and well-used program," Portis said.
The individual assistance program will be used for homeowners and their families if their primary residential structure was damaged in the storm.
Portis noted the last time Nebraska had to utilize this program was during the 2019 flooding of the Missouri River.
"Individual assistance based on the FEMA criteria... is a very, very difficult program to get a declaration on, but we've secured that," he said, noting approval normally takes about four weeks. "We started working on our application on Tuesday... and we got the authorization from the president this morning."
Residents were able to pick up the individual assistance form, and can also fill out a form at disasterassistance.gov or download the FEMA app on their phone and search for the individual assistance application.
Portis also said FEMA personnel will begin visiting affected neighborhoods to assess the damage.
"They can provide money — it doesn't have to be repaid — for serious needs such as food, water and medicine," he said.
Funding can also assist with home repairs, rental assistance and replacing personal property. Only one registration per household is needed.
Residents can find more disaster relief information at washingtoncountyne.gov.
