ReadyWisconsin

Firefighters next to their trucks after putting out a house fire

Steps to take immediately following a disaster

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.

Private Citizen/Business Owner Steps

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 Cleanup 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 Steps

After the disaster:

  • Municipalities
    • Report your damages to the County Emergency Management Office.
  • 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

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