Due to severe and prolonged winter rain and wind storms during the month of December, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners has declared a State of Emergency in Lincoln County, during a special meeting on Monday December 21st. Lincoln County’s Emergency Management has been directed to take all necessary steps authorized by law to secure the persons and property of the citizens of Lincoln County. Under ORS 401.165 State assistance is requested immediately and includes the following:
• Declare an emergency in Lincoln County and other areas in the State of Oregon beginning December 7, 2015 and continuing through today as a single event.
• Facilitate our assessment of the public and private damages to include in a federal emergency declaration request.
• Make available, as needed and requested, state resources to the County, Cities, Special Districts (and if needed Tribes) to address continuing clean up, recovery and mitigation of this event.
Bill Hall, commented, “Our Emergency Services Department has been in constant communication with first responders, local governments and the state government to monitor the situation with this storm event. Our road and public works employees have been putting in considerable overtime to deal with the most severe problems in as timely a manner as possible. Fortunately, we’ve had no reports of any injuries. The people of Lincoln County are resilient, and I’m sure we will weather this storm.”
According to the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM), “As an emergency develops, local resources are mobilized to respond. As they respond, private sector resources, mutual aid from neighboring communities, and volunteer organizations supplement response efforts. Once local resources are overwhelmed, local governments can declare a local emergency and request assistance from the state. The Governor then declares a state of emergency and makes state resources available to assist impacted local governments. OEM then coordinates with local jurisdictions to assess damages and determine losses and recovery needs. If the impacts exceed certain criteria and thresholds, a major disaster declaration is requested by the Governor to the President. If the magnitude and severity warrants, the President then declares a major disaster to enable supplementary federal disaster assistance.”
For further information about the declaration and process, please contact:
Virginia “Jenny” Demaris
Emergency Manager
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office
225 W. Olive St., Newport, Oregon 97365
vdemaris@co.lincoln.or.us
(541) 265-4199 Office
