Ottawa County emergency manager details storm damage in Park and Zeeland townships; residents press for help

Lou, an Ottawa County emergency management staff member, told the Board of Commissioners on May 27 that a severe storm that moved through the lakeshore counties on May 15 caused concentrated damage in Zeeland Township and Park Township, including a dairy barn with its roof torn off and a small, confined damage area in the Wakazoo Woods neighborhood where multiple large trees fell on houses.

The county emergency management update said National Weather Service radar showed two radar-indicated rotations over Ottawa County and multiple severe-thunderstorm destructive warnings; outdoor warning sirens were used and the county issued wireless emergency alerts. "We hit the outdoor warning sirens multiple times, to alert everybody that we could," Lou said.

The nut graf: County staff said life-safety response and road clearance were immediate priorities, and the county has begun damage assessments and coordination with utilities, townships and volunteer groups. Residents and township officials in heavily treed neighborhoods pressed the county for help removing downed trees and clearing private and common property where insurance or township resources are limited.

Lou described county actions taken immediately after the storm: activating emergency…