The initial damage assessment process must be completed and returned to Oregon Emergency Management on Friday, January 27, 2012. In order to meet this deadline County Emergency Management will communicate directly to agency leads for the public safety agencies, utility districts, special districts, and non-profit organizations regarding their requirements to document damages received during the past week and will establish a phone bank for residents and private business owners. Oregon Emergency Management will then collate the damage assessment information from the Counties and will request a preliminary damage assessment review through FEMA. If approved, FEMA will activate a preliminary damage assessment team to tour the areas affected by the storm in our County.

Residents and private business owners of Lincoln County will be asked to call in their damages through a phone bank (541) 265-1999 that will be activated on Tuesday, January 24th at 9:00 a.m. The phone bank will be operational between the hours of 09:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Individuals and private business owners must call before 6pm on Thursday, January 26th to report their estimate of damages to their homes, businesses or loss of property as a renter of said property. The following outlines the questions residents and private business owners will be asked to report when they call in to the phone bank:

 

- Name of owner or renter of property
- Address of property
- Contact number
- Is property a primary home, rental property, or business
- Is the property a single family home, mobile home, multi-family (apartment)
- What was the type of damage sustained (5 categories)
Affected – Habitable
Minor (homes that can be made habitable quickly and without great expense)
Major (homes requiring costly or extended repair to be made habitable)
Destroyed
Inaccessible
- Is the property or property contents insured?
- Estimated damage of loss

 

Damages to rental units will be counted twice; the renter is affected under the housing category and loss of personal property and the landlord is affected under the business category unless all the damage is to the personal property of the renter. However, damages to “second” or vacation homes, or outbuildings such as detached garages will not be counted as they do not meet the criteria for identifying initial damage assessments. Residents can use Assessor’s records to establish community average of home values (low, medium, and high) to facilitate making damage estimates http://www.co.lincoln.or.us/assessor/

Personal Assistance: American Red Cross staff will be coordinating with emergency officials and local community partners to help residents impacted by the flood and to determine if shelters should be opened. For residents who have been displaced from their home, or need humanitarian assistance, they can contact the American Red Cross at (541) 265-7182. For information on Red Cross shelter sites, go to www.redcross.org and click on "Getting Assistance."

Home Safety and Reentry After a Flood and Water Safety After a Flood: Included is a link to the Oregon Health Authority with information for Citizens on flood and water safety after a flood, home safety and reentry after a flood and injury prevention after a disaster.
http://public.health.oregon.gov/Preparedness/CurrentHazards/Pages/index.aspx

What to do with Storm Debris: The recent storms have left many Oregon communities with extensive flood
damage and debris. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality urges residents and organizations to
dispose of storm debris properly. Doing so will help prevent further negative impacts on our environment.
Please follow the links below for official guidelines. http://www.oregon.gov/DEQ/stormdebrismgt.shtml