Published: May 23, 2008 10:32 am      

FEMA, OEM make damage survey

President George W. Bush has already declared Ottawa County as a disaster area because of the tornado which tore through Picher, in Northeastern Oklahoma, on May 10. Now, emergency officials are assessing whether Pittsburg, Latimer and Craig counties should be added as well.

Adding Pittsburg and Latimer counties could open the door for individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for area residents who suffered uninsured property losses because of the tornado.

Personnel with FEMA, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and the U.S. Small Business Administration were in Pittsburg and Latimer counties on Thursday.

They were here to conduct preliminary damage estimates and to see firsthand the homes that were decimated when tornadoes ripped through the area on May 10.

Anyone with uninsured storm losses storm damage from the May 10 tornado in Pittsburg should call and report it to FEMA at 800-621-FEMA, according to State Emergency Management spokesperson Michelann Ooten.

Ooten said the callers will be told that Pittsburg and Latimer counties have not yet been declared disaster counties, but FEMA should still take the information.

“It’s not just a dollar amount when it comes to individual assistance,” said Michelann Ooten of the Department of Emergency Management.

She said other factors are considered, such as the loss of homes and the effect on a community.

“We’ll take the numbers we receive here today and consolidate them in a report,” Ooten said, standing outside a home which had been destroyed on Haywood Road which Pittsburg County Emergency Management Director Treat Dyers showed to the group.

The information will then be sent to Gov. Brad Henry’s office, where the governor will decide whether to ask whether to include Pittsburg, Latimer and Craig counties in the report.

Ooten said the other three counties would not have to be sent to the White House for approval by the president, if they are considered as “add-on” counties to the disaster already declared in Ottawa County.

Meanwhile, Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for Gov. Henry, said the governor will decide what action to take after the governor’s office recieves the damage assessment report.

“If the damage level arises to the level to add to the request, we will do it,” he said.