Michelle Barkley, Emergency Management Director, stood before the County Commissioners on Tuesday, at their weekly meeting.
On Wednesday, December 15, the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners verbally declared a state of local disaster for Saline County, where certain conditions caused by severe weather and damaging winds imminently threatened and caused widespread and severe damage and injury to Saline County and the cities within it. Thankfully, there was no loss of life within our county.
Barkley stated, "It was a busy weekend of assessing all of our cities and our schools. I would like to note that the County's threshold for damage is roughly $222,000. The state of Kansas is roughly $4.8 million. That threshold needs to be met for even the minimal consideration by FEMA. As it stands right now with road and bridge, the airport, and USD 305, we've already met our threshold of about $367,144 worth of damage."
FEMA uses the threshold as a starting point. Also taken into consideration are the impact on the community in which the disaster occurred, and any use of community resources.
"As it stands on a local level," Barkley said, "we've met our threshold. Now we're just waiting to see if the State of Kansas meets theirs, and we'll progress up to the Federal level."
Barkley also said that sixty residents took use of Webster Conference Center as a shelter in the days after the wind storm.
The motion to officially declare a state of emergency in Saline County in wake of the wind storm on Wednesday, December 15, passed 4-0.