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Eaton County reports EF1 tornado damage, adopts five-year hazard mitigation plan
Summary
Emergency management and dispatch described response to the May 15 storm that produced an EF1 tornado across Eaton County. The committee approved the county's five-year hazard mitigation plan after FEMA review.
Eaton County's emergency management director told the Safety Committee on June 5 that a May 15 storm produced an EF1 tornado that tracked roughly 15.5 miles through the county, damaging structures and infrastructure. The committee also approved the county's five-year multi-hazard mitigation plan, which FEMA reviewed with no requested changes.
The emergency management director said the tornado's estimated peak winds reached about 100 miles per hour, with a path about 250 yards wide. Damage assessments identified roughly 25 to 30 structures affected and one destroyed structure, a barn at Hidden Creek Farms, the director said.
"When the National Weather Service says ... we've got a debris signature, that tells you something's on the ground," the emergency management director said, describing why teams must complete rapid damage assessments so the county can determine whether to seek state or federal assistance.
Kelly Cunningham, Eaton County 9-1-1 director, told the committee the storm produced a surge in 9-1-1 traffic. "In a three-hour period we took about 1,300 calls. Of those 1,300 calls, 492 were an overflow from Kalamazoo County," she said, explaining how NextGen 9-1-1 rollover processes move calls among back-up centers.
Cunningham said dispatch is coordinating with Peninsula Fiber Network to build a storm plan that can split call flows geographically to avoid overwhelming a single center. She also reported staffing changes: one supervisor retired May 31, a promotion to supervisor is pending, and one applicant will start June 16; two telecommunicator positions remain open.
Commissioners asked about an individual neighborhood siren at Crandall Park; Cunningham said the system dashboard reports the siren as functional and she would ask the vendor, West Shore, to inspect it.
Emergency management presented the five-year hazard mitigation plan required by U.S. law; staff said FEMA had 45 days to review and returned the plan without requested changes. The committee approved a motion to forward the plan to the full board for signature by Commissioner Mott.
The committee voted to approve the plan and accepted the reports from emergency management and central dispatch. County staff said they will continue after-action work and refinement of storm response procedures.
