StateImpact's Chloe Bennett-Steele spoke with Annie Mack Vest, executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, about how individuals can prepare for severe weather.
TRANSCRIPT:
Chloe Bennett-Steele: I think many people have the Guadalupe River flood in Texas on their minds right now, and Oklahoma is no stranger to flood events. So what do you want people to know about protecting themselves before a flood happens?
Annie Mack Vest: Yeah, I think the Guadalupe River situation is something that none of us would ever, you know, imagine.
Mack Vest: We have to really respect the hazards that exist and have pre-existed our development. So in Oklahoma, any person in Oklahoma can go to our state flood plan dashboard and type in their address and find out if they are in a risk for any type of flooding.
Bennett-Steele: You had a 2024 presentation that recommended switching the mindset from quote, when will FEMA be here to insurance and emergency funding. Of course, that is referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Can you kind of elaborate on what you meant by that?
Mack Vest: We as a nation, not just Oklahoma, we've leaned on FEMA as a crutch. And that's a really important thing to understand, that's not specific to this administration. It's a always-has-been conversation.
Mack Vest: You know, we're going to the same roads, the same bridges, the same houses, and paying every single time, 75% of the cost to repair, rebuild.
Mack Vest: But just trying to figure out a way to also not just incentivize people and their behavior to mitigate, but these communities that have a responsibility to, you know, protect their citizens and really invest in a way that allows us to save money and take the federal dollar that we have and help communities that, you know, maybe haven't had disasters time and time again, and I think that we're seeing that with the current administration.
Bennett-Steele: So, part of what you're referring to is mitigation through infrastructure upgrades, right? So where will communities get that funding?
Mack Vest: It certainly depends on the community, and most communities are rural, right? Most communities in Oklahoma can't even afford the 25% cost share when FEMA comes in. But to me, that means we need to do a better job of making that dollar go farther. The rural communities, I have a tremendous heart for, because I have worked in many of them. And so, not just focusing on FEMA and not just focusing on the federal government. What other state funds are there?
Mack Vest: The other thing, though, to educate the public on, in communities like Tulsa, Norman, Oklahoma City. These communities that do have higher budgets, that when a community is trying to pass a bond package, when you see things like stormwater funding, don't shoot it down. Those are the things that are going to – if you want your flooding– if you want healthy water, if you want those things to be invested in by your community. We have to educate the public on where that money is coming from and what's in that bond package.
Bennett-Steele: And then just going back to individual disaster preparedness, what resources are available to people who want to be disaster prepared but don't know, necessarily, where to start?
Mack Vest: I think from the beginning it's really hard because areas that are at most risk of flooding, for example, are typically areas that have, maybe, populations that are lower-income. And so we know that they're not only at risk, but they can't afford to purchase flood insurance or potentially mitigate that risk.
Mack Vest: Really, preparedness starts at home. So, understanding at a minimum, I need to know as much information as I can about what happens when that hazard is going to occur. Making sure, you know, there's at least multiple ways of warning.
Mack Vest: So, if you don't have a cell phone and you can't get a wireless emergency alert, a NOAA weather is like $10. So knowing in advance, can you evacuate? Do you know if you could get to a certain location should you need to? What would that location be? And just doing a little pre-planning.
Mack Vest: All of that is very far-fetched to think that most people are going to take an action.
Mack Vest: But we're going to keep on pushing out preparedness messages, and if they're not ready, then we'll be there on the back end to help them navigate that recovery process too.
Bennett-Steele: Well, thank you so much again for your time.
Mack Vest: Great. Awesome. Thank you.
The conversation has been edited for time and clarity.
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