City officials outline damage assessments and resource centers; emergency 211 line activated

Chief Tesh presented the city’s immediate assessment and resource strategy, saying teams completed primary and secondary searches, photographed addresses and entered information to inform aid and funding requests. He said the siren system and alerts likely helped avoid fatalities and credited mutual aid for the rapid response.

"As of Sunday, 1,628 homes and businesses had been assessed," Chief Tesh said, while cautioning the numbers change daily. He urged residents to call 211 for triage and resource connection for food, shelter, insurance help and mental-health referrals. Director Hutter added that health and public-health staff are coordinating a MARC (multi-agency resource center) to bring agencies and specialists — including Red Cross and insurance assistance — closer to affected neighborhoods.

Department heads described volunteer and intercity support: the UW–Oshkosh Fox Cities campus and hundreds of volunteers staffed donation and intake centers, and the library reopened to provide phone and internet access to residents without power.