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Wayne County officials going door to door assessing storm damage

Jan 03, 2024Jan 03, 2024

ROCKWOOD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Today, Wayne County Homeland Security and Emergency Management went door to door in Rockwood, Flat Rock, Gibraltar and Brownstown Township to assess storm damage.

7 Action News learned six teams are making the rounds.

Piles of furniture and various goods damaged by last week's storms are sitting in front of homes in Rockwood.

“I’ve got lots of lovely purses that are just smelly and stinky," Rockwood resident Kristine Wahoski told 7 Action News.

She rummaged through damaged items that are airing out after flood water tipped over storage bins in her basement during Wednesday’s storm.

“I woke up the next morning to about 20 inches of water. 16 to 20 inches of water," Wahoski recalled.

Moments before speaking with 7 Action News, she spoke with the Wayne County team.

Samer Jafaar, director of the Wayne County Homeland Security and Emergency Management team, said they're asking residents a series of questions about the damage sustained.

“Obtaining information to see the level of, maybe, financial costs and so forth, but at the same time this is not a claim for residents. This is for us to capture the amount of damage to pass it on to the state," he explained.

Both Monroe and Wayne Counties declared states of emergency as well as the governor.

Jafaar was joined by a member of the Red Cross as well as Rockwood’s fire chief Dan Mercure.

Jafaar said, “It’s very important that the citizens take pictures of the damage so you have it. You never know if it gets to a federal declaration. You want to have those pictures."

Donly Elkins, who has a nice finished basement, said he got about 5 inches of water in his man cave. Now, a lot of what was down there is at the curb.

Moments before chatting with 7 Action News he also spoke with the assessment team.

“They were just asking if I had insurance, homeowner’s insurance, and what was covered, what was damaged, how much water I had," Elkins explained.

There is a self-reporting portal for storm damage that residents are encouraged to visit that can be found by clicking here.

If you have any questions or concerns, Wayne County Homeland Security and Emergency Management said you can give them a call at 734-728-3711.