Damage to a house trailer is seen after a May 2011 tornado hit Denning in Franklin County.
Times Record File Photo
Property damage is seen after a May 2011 tornado hit Denning in Franklin County.
Much of Arkansas has dodged high-caliber meteorological bullets so far this year, as a mild winter with little snow and ice yielded to a temperate spring with little flooding and few thunderstorms or destructive tornadoes.
Still, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports we live in a country with some of the most destructive weather on the planet. The U.S. logs an average 10,000 thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and 1,000 tornadoes in a typical year. Annual death tolls from American storms is around 500, and property damage topping $14 billion is not out of the ordinary, according to NOAA.
NOAA maintains that weather — even non-violent weather like rain or a drop in temperature — can have economic effects as well. A single rain event occurring at the wrong place or time is calculated to carry an economic impact of as much as $485 billion. The agency points out growing use of wind and sun as power sources will make observation of weather patterns more important in determining their value.
Figures from the Arkansas Insurance Department indicate the state experienced 36 weather-related deaths and suffered $61 million in property damage in 2010.
Property damage — homes, vehicles and public structures — is largely covered by insurance. In cases where it is not, state and local agencies stand ready to offer what help they can.
FEMA aid for individuals and families also can include:
• Rental payments for temporary housing for those whose homes are unlivable.
• Grants for home repairs and replacement of essential household items not covered by insurance to make damaged dwellings safe, sanitary and functional.
• Grants to replace personal property and help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other federal, state and charitable aid programs.
• Unemployment payments up to 26 weeks for workers who temporarily lost jobs because of the disaster.
Following an April 9, 2009, tornado that brought death and destruction to Mena, the Federal Emergency Management Agency funded disaster relief of almost $2.2 million to uninsured or underinsured residents of Polk County. Another $2.2 million in low-interest loans administered through the Small Business Administration funded private rebuilding in the area.
FEMA also provided another $2.2 million in public assistance funds, requiring a 25 percent local match, to pay for debris removal, cleanup and remediation of public property and facilities.
The Arkansas Insurance Department reports total damage from the 2009 storms in Polk County at $15.9 million to homes, $2.5 million for vehicles and $1.8 million to commercial structures.
FEMA’s response a year later to a night of destructive tornadoes in Franklin and Johnson counties elicited some criticism from local residents as too little and too late. The federal agency initially declined individual assistance funds to address the damage to the area where five were killed and some 140 homes were destroyed.
The decision was appealed and FEMA eventually made available individual and public assistance funds totaling $1.6 million.
Home, business and auto damage assessment for the storm damage in the two counties, according to the Arkansas Insurance Department, was under $700,000. By comparison Crawford County, which also suffered some tornado damage but no loss of life during the storms, had damage topping $1.7 million.
Area damage pales to the damage resulting from the May 22, 2011, tornado that destroyed one-third of the city of Joplin, killing 154, injuring 1,150 and causing $3 billion in damage.
Crawford County Judge John Hall said while no county can fully prepare for the worst weather, some measure of local preparation is essential.
“We keep some money in reserve,” he said. “I have $500,000 for emergencies. When a disaster comes through, you need money immediately.”
He said the county rainy-day fund will not cover costs in a major disaster, but with prudent spending and record-keeping, the local funds can count as the required local match for any state and federal public assistance disaster relief funds that could result.
Hall said while the violent weather of earlier years has been challenging, 2012 has brought the mildest winter and spring he has experienced in his five years in office. The break has worked to the county’s advantage.
A typical winter would tax county crews with snow and ice removal, cutting and hauling of downed limbs and trees. Heavy spring rains wash out gravel roads and bridge approaches.
FEMA data indicate the majority of public assistance funds distributed in the wake of a disaster go toward fixing roads.
“Normally, we would be repairing spring storm damage about now,” Hall said Thursday. “This year, we did not have that, so we moved ahead.”
As a result, he said county road crews are more than a month ahead of schedule on summer road improvement projects. “We plan to put in 15 miles of chip and seal, five miles of asphalt overlay and replace some metal drainage pipe with box culverts,” he said.
Meanwhile, the unspent emergency funds can be carried forward to next year’s budget. And any salt or gravel purchased for snow and ice removal can be stockpiled for the next hard winter.
Glen Bolick, spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department said trying to budget for disaster relief is like aiming at a moving target.
He said the AHTD has a catch-all maintenance budget that covers everything from fixing potholes and cleaning out ditches to clearing roads blocked by downed trees and storm debris to snow removal.
Bolick said the AHTD typically anticipates spending $4 million to $5 million to clear and maintain storm struck roads. Prior to 2012, the state has experienced three years of storm maintenance costs —winter snow and ice removal as well as repairing spring flood damage — in the “double-digit millions.”
“This year, we have had maybe a quarter of that,” he said.
Maintenance money not spent on recovering from disaster can instead go toward more arcane highway needs like applying overlay to secondary roads or applying a larger patch to a rough road rather than just filling a pothole.
Bolick said given its geography, Arkansas does not have winter weather severe enough to justify maintaining a fleet of snow and ice-removal equipment that states to the north must have. Instead, a truck that hauls litter in one season may be used to spread salt in another. Graders are typically put into service to scrape piled snow and ice.