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Alex Cabrero reporting Structural problems are the most pressing issue in Wells, Nev. Today the calculations begin. FEMA crews are going to buildings and homes most affected by yesterday's earthquake to tally the damage.
Aftershocks are still a big part of daily life in Wells. They kept people awake last night and have continued throughout the day today. However, the biggest pressing issue now is the safety of the town's structures. Crews are doing an assessment of all the structures, trying to figure out the damage. Doing all that could take a few days.
The day after the earthquake was a day just making sure people's homes were OK. The Red Cross and local fire department spent hours going door to door doing quick assessments of structural damage.
"We come out, and we looked, and I said, ‘Oh, this is great!'" Robyn Fullmer said. Her chimney is gone, and inside there are plenty of new cracks to worry about.
"Our insurance agent called and said, ‘Hi, guess what?' And I said, ‘I know, no earthquake insurance. We know. We know,'" Fullmer said.
Which is a big reason why these assessments are being done: If there is enough monetary damage to Wells, the town could qualify for federal money. "Again, that will go a long ways towards us seeking a federal disaster declaration to get Wells back up on its feet," said Kim Telouse, with Nevada Emergency Management.
The power is back on, water no longer needs to be boiled, and phones and propane tanks are no longer an issue--that's the good news. The bad news is there is a lot of structural damage. "This community is classified as 64 percent low-income. In a community like this, where there's 1,800 people who live in this community, the impact from this disaster is severe," Telouse said.
On top of that, small aftershocks are still being felt and measured by seismologists. "It's a tough thing, situation to be in. It's going to take a long time. The town's going to have to heal," one worker said.
The buildings in the historic downtown part of Wells are obviously the most damaged buildings we've seen in town. But the public building most affected is Wells High School. It received severe damage during yesterday's earthquake.
The gym at the school is in bad shape, and in some places crews are concerned about the ceiling. Because of this, the high school is closed and won't re-open for days.
In the meantime, another building will have to be used for classes. But right now, district officials aren't sure when classes will even start again. "We want to be able to get our kids in school as soon as possible, but understanding we cannot do that under a state of chaos. Our kids do not need any more chaos," said Leslie Loftpeich, principal of Wells High School
As for the elementary school, that's being used as the emergency operations center, so students can't even go there.
There are 375 students who aren't sure when classes are going to start again, but that's something district officials are working on as we speak.
