Wisconsin Asks FEMA for Formal Damage Assessment After July 27 Tornado

Overview

• Gov. Tony Evers directed Wisconsin Emergency Management on Monday to request a joint preliminary damage assessment from FEMA as the next formal step toward federal disaster aid.
• The FEMA-led assessment will count damaged homes and public facilities and estimate repair costs while relying mostly on virtual reviews and selective on-site inspections with dates and locations to be set.
• Winnebago County finished its local preliminary damage survey and is reviewing results with no finalized totals yet, and state officials said other counties could be added as local assessments continue.
• The request follows severe storms that included a confirmed EF-3 tornado that tore through the Fox Valley on July 27, causing destroyed homes, flipped cars, power outages, and water-system disruptions across multiple counties.
• The state has already declared a state of emergency, activated the National Guard, declared economic disruption and directed price-gouging enforcement, and is appealing an earlier FEMA denial that could shape prospects for new federal aid.