So we have for the camera, can you
give us your first and last name and
your title?
Sure, Nicole Wilson, N-I-C-O-L-E,
W-I L-S-O N,
and I am a FEMA spokesperson.
So tell me about the work that
you're doing here in Milwaukee.
Yeah, so FEMA is here at the
request of the state where we've
joined Wisconsin Emergency
Management to come out and verify
some of the damage that these
communities suffered as a result of
the storms that started on August
9th. And we're here
with the state, the county, and
we're going to take a look at some
of the damaged that occurred and
talk to the residents.
We're knocking on doors to
see what the storms,
how those storms impacted families
here. And the state will take
the data that we collect.
Over the next few days or however
long it takes to collect that data.
They'll take that data and provide
it to the governor.
And ultimately, the governor will
use that information to make a
determination on whether he will
then make a request for
a major disaster declaration for
these communities.
So how many assessments do you
expect to make while you're here?
How many actual assessments,
meaning how many doors will we not?
Yeah, yeah. What's the extent of
your work here?
Yeah,
so our teams will
go wherever
the state and the county requests
that we go. We will see as much
damage as they ask us to
see.
We have looked at some of that
damage virtually.
We know that they have asked
families and individuals to
send photos to 211.
People have done that, we've seen
some of those photos.
We started looking at some of those
photos earlier this week.
And now we're in the field looking
at the damage in person.
And so we're here to
see exactly what
the county and the state want us
to see. And we're going to be here
as long as they think we need to be.
And then how many FEMA
representatives and workers will be
here for this part of it.
Yeah, I don't have an exact number
for you, but I know that we have six
teams in the field. We have four
teams in Milwaukee County, one in
Ouachita County, and one in
Washington County, Waukesha
County.
We have 14 in Milwaukee county,
one Waukeesha county, and one in
Washington county.
I don't have an exactly number on
how many FEMA staff are here.
But I can tell you that dozens
of people from
FEMA and the counties
and the cities are
here supporting these assessments.
So part of the
push here is to get the federal
designation for the emergency status
and declaration.
What does that process look like?
Where do you all fit in, and can
you roll out that process
for us?
Yeah, absolutely.
So these assessments are basically
the first step in the process.
The state has requested FEMA come in
to take a look at the damage and
verify this damage.
And this is the first step in
the process toward getting a major
disaster declaration.
So here we are in the beginning
phase of here.
We're out here. We're taking a look
at the damage.
We will make
sure the state and the county have
this information.
And then again, we'll roll that
information up. The governor will
receive this information.
They'll review it.
And then the governor will say, hey,
yes, this is good enough for us
to submit.
This is above our capability to
help these communities recover.
And if that is the
conclusion he comes to, then he
will make a determination to submit
a request for a major disaster
declaration.
That request will come to FEMA.
FEMA will make the recommendation
to the president.
The president has the final say on
whether a disaster declaration will
be issued.
What's the timeline for that?
I don't.
Unfortunately, I can't say that's a
two-day timeline or a two week
timeline or a two month timeline.
Unfortunately that information does
not.
With me.
So have you gone out and seen some
of the damage yourself and tell me
what you're seeing?
Yeah, I have not seen any
of them even if
I have, it would be a very
very small snapshot compared to what
our local partners have seen
and so I think questions like that
would be better represented for
our local and county and state
partners because they've been on the
ground since day one, they've
seen what their neighbors have
been dealing with and so they
have told us what that
damage looks like.
And so that's why we've relied on
them to bring us into the
communities that they think are
hardest hit.
And we are following their lead,
and we're here to see what they want
us to see.
Of folks looking for
when they're in
meeting with these residents?
What do they want to see to take
down and right now?
Yeah, we want to know how the
storm impacted the families, right?
So were the families displaced from
their homes?
If the storms, if their basements
were flooded, did sewage get into
their homes.
How did that impact their living
situation?
And so those are some of the
questions we will ask.
Did it knock out their
HVAC systems?
Did it not knock out your electric
systems? Did it shift their
foundation?
Damage their homes in a way that
prevented them from living in their
homes. These are some of the things
that we're looking for because this
is what makes the home
habitable or uninhabitable.
The things that we're looking for.
Is there anything else that I can
ask about that's important?
No, thank you, top of that.
Thank you so much for your time.
Of course.