There are potential funding opportunities available after a disaster, however everything starts with a swift and accurate damage assessment.

Damage assessment determines what was damaged, as well as when, where, and how damage occurred. These assessments start the eligibility determination for disaster recovery programs, such as the Wisconsin Disaster Fund, FEMA’s Public Assistance and Individual Assistant Programs, and other potential programs.

If you want more information on damage assessment, please choose one of the following.

I am a:

PRIVATE CITIZEN / BUSINESS OWNER
COUNTY / TRIBE / MUNICIPALITY

PRIVATE CITIZEN / BUSINESS OWNER

Things you can do before a disaster:

maintain property insurance
  • consider sewer backup/sump pump insurance rider
  • rental insurance (if applicable)
  • business coverage
CONSIDER FLOOD INSURANCE
  • Dwelling, General Property, Residential Condominium Building Association
  • Most flood insurance policies require 30 days before taking effect
  • You do not have to live in a flood plain to obtain flood insurance coverage
  • NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) Help Center 1-800-427-4661
HAVE A BACK-UP POWER SOURCE
develop and practice an emergency plan

Things you need to do immediately following a disaster:

RECORD DAMAGES
  • Photos – with date, time and brief description (e.g. “June 9th at 11pm – flood water entering basement window”)
  • List of affected property/assets
Contact your insurance company
SAVE REPAIR AND CLEAN UP RECEIPTS
  • Required to verify loss
  • Documents repetitive loss
Monitor local media and press releases on directions to report damages homes/businesses

You might not be contacted by anyone after reporting damages if:

  • Damages are easily validated or visible from the road
  • Not enough damage to qualify for FEMA Individual Assistance (IA)

While you may be able to easily recover from your damages, your neighbors may not.
By reporting damages, you may assist your community to reach thresholds necessary for disaster assistance.

COUNTY / TRIBE / MUNICIPALITY

Before the disaster:

Ensure access to: 
Survey123 training for Damage Assessment

Further information can be found in the following locations in WI WebEOC:

o  WI WebEOC > Advanced File Library > Recovery > Damage Assessment > Survey 123 Directions

o  WI WebEOC > Daily Operations > Training Videos > Damage Assessment using Survey123 AND WEM Recovery Refresher: Survey123 (rev. 2022)

Read Guidelines for Assessing and Documenting Disaster Damage

WebEOC > Advanced File Library > Recovery > Damage Assessment > Damage Assessment Guide

Be familiar with the different types of funding and their thresholds
FEMA
WDF
  • County and/or Municipality Threshold = 2020 Census population x $4.60
  • 30% local match
DOT DDA
  • Certain roads that are impassible qualify
  • 25% local match
  • 50 % mitigation match available
Other Disaster Assistance
Be familiar with:
FEMA categories A-G
Understand 211 and how to active them for your incident

WebEOC > Advanced File Library > Recovery > Damage Assessment > IA Packet Documents > County and Tribe Packet > 12. 2-1-1 County Activation Guide

After the disaster:

Municipalities

Report your damages to the County Emergency Management Office. Find your local office at https://wem.wi.gov/county-directors/

Counties/Tribes/Municipalities

Declare an Emergency, if applicable

Record and document damages

Using Survey 123 Damage Assessment, pencil/paper, or other system available to you

  • WebEOC > Advanced File Library > Recovery > Damage Assessment > Survey123 Instructions
Counties/Tribes

Complete and submit initial UDSR within 72 hours

  • Can be found in WebEOC – Incident Boards > 13. UDSR

LINKS:

TRAINING:

If you are interested in additional training, you can view the “WEM Damage Assessment Progressive Training Program” in WebEOC > Advance File Library > Recovery > Damage Assessment.

You can visit the WEM Training Portal or the National Preparedness First Responder course catalog for additional training opportunities

Damage Assessment Contact Information

For Assistance in WebEOC on the UDSR Board contact:

webeocsupport@widma.gov

For Assistance in UDSR information to be included:

widisasterfund@widma.gov
OR
DMAWEMPublicAssistance@widma.gov