TYLER COUNTY – Local emergency management officials are encouraging residents to use an assessment tool from the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) to help report damages incurred during winter storm Fern.
The Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) can be accessed via mobile device, and is issued to help emergency management, both at the local and state level, to identify and gain an understanding of the damages that have occurred, according to TDEM.
Tyler County Emergency Management Coordinator John Settlocker encouraged everyone who had any damages during the storm to report them using the assessment tool. “Damages could include broken water pipes, downed trees, damages to homes and power poles that were damaged due to limbs,” he said.
The QR code included with this article will open an app so that homeowners can enter information, and it is recommended to include up to 10 pictures of damage, Settlocker said.
According to reports, more than 30 states were impacted by Fern, and the storm, which occurred during the period of Jan. 23 – 26 packed a wallop, with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain, as well as dangerously cold temperatures, to multiple regions throughout the country.
One report estimated that total insured losses came in at around $6.7 billion, nationwide. The storm’s impact to Texas triggered a statewide emergency response from Gov. Greg Abbott, who issued a disaster declaration ahead of its arrival.
TDEM activated several agencies to emergency response, and the declaration eventually covered 219 counties.
Settlocker said that if anyone in Tyler County can be helped in any way by the county’s Emergency Management Office to call the office at 409-331-0874 or stop by at 201 Veterans Way #19 in Woodville. He can be reached by email, also at: jsettlocker@co.tyler.tx.us.
