FROM THE ELMORE COUNTY COMMISSION
The recent storm event that began Sunday March 26th in Elmore County resulted in damage due to straight line winds in the Coosada/ Millbrook area and damage due to an EF1 tornado in the Lake Martin area. In addition, river flooding and some flash flood impacts have created a few damaged roads throughout the county.
“We are very fortunate that no one was injured during this storm. Although it takes time, material items can be replaced, lives can not. Thank you to the first responders, volunteers and our citizens for helping those in need” stated Commissioner Desirae Lewis Jackson.
Commissioner Mack Daugherty commented ” I appreciate the efforts of our first responders, volunteers and staff to assist our citizens impacted by the storm. Recovery will take some time as we balance the cleanup of past events, normal maintenance activities and our upcoming Rebuild Alabama projects. We appreciate the patience of all our citizens as we deal with these abnormal circumstances”.
Currently, county staff and volunteers are out performing damage assessments to properly document the damage and prepare repair/ restoration plans. This is the fourth major weather event for our county since late November 2022 with two being non federally declared events and only one reaching the federal disaster thresholds for assistance. County staff at our public works and emergency management levels will be providing the damage assessments to the appropriate state agencies in an effort to qualify for any assistance available. At this point in the process it seems unlikely the local thresholds will be met for public assistance.
To assist with the assessment process though, our Elmore County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is sharing a new way to self report private property storm damage by using the Orion platform. To self report storm damage to private property, you can do so by downloading the Elmore County EMA app and use the damage report link or follow the link here to complete the damage report. The Elmore County EMA will verify the report once submitted and the citizen will be contacted. Citizens can also report private property storm damage by contacting the Elmore County EMA office at 334-567-6451.
Elmore County Public Works has been working to ensure all county roads are passable and will schedule in the future the removal of any woody debris deposited on the county rights-of way generated by the recent storm event. With the previous storm events not yet completed, this activity will be a long-term process. Anyone with questions related to storm debris can contact the County Public Works Department at 334-567-1162 or at roads@elmoreco.org
