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Earlier this week, the Dallas County Commission heard from Dallas County Emergency Management Director Toya Crusoe about developments regarding the March 15 EF-3 tornado that caused significant damage in Plantersville and the loss of life of two individuals.

There was some good news and bad news about what she said. The good news is that a large number of the property owners who sustained damage had insurance. There were 35 structures that were impacted, according to Crusoe. Nine were destroyed while 18 received major damage.

“So, I believe the insured losses exceeded the uninsured,” Crusoe told the commissioners.

Because of that, however, it created the bad news that Dallas County will not meet the threshold for a disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. While we are glad that most of these homeowners did have insurance, it likely will not cover all of the repairs that are needed.

As we all know, construction costs have increased over the last few years. The replacement value of the structures could be more than what insurance companies will pay out. Also, the contents of the structures may not be covered by that.

Residents will need additional assistance. Thankfully, Crusoe is already working with other partners to help the residents out there. She mentioned that she attended a meeting at the Edmundite Missions to see what volunteer groups can do to assist with the recovery efforts.

We applaud the work of Crusoe and Dallas County to do whatever it takes to get the residents the help they need. While we may not receive the federal funding you’d expect from a major disaster like this, we are hopeful that residents will get the help they need to begin the rebuilding part of the recovery process.