FEMA Begins Assessments in Good Friday Storms

Five groups of assessors from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) started assessing homes damaged by the on Wednesday. The teams are surveying Bridgeton, Ferguson, Maryland Heights, St. Ann and other areas hit by the storm.

The FEMA officials are part of a Joint Preliminary Assessment Team, which consists of local officials, state authorities from the Missouri Emergency Management Agency, and an official from the Small Business Administration.

Officials will assess home damage and will give the information to the state.

FEMA spokesperson Josh deBerge told Maryland Heights Patch that the overall goal is to see all areas damaged by the storms.

Before the officials surveyed the damage, team members met with city mayors and officials on how the storm impacted each city as a whole.

If the incident is beyond the local or state ability to mend itself, then FEMA can step in with assistance, deBerge said.

Jim Yost, a FEMA official performing assessments in Ferguson, said FEMA does not determine how bad damage is. He said what may not seem like a lot of damage to one person could be another person’s entire life.