Federal and county teams began going door-to-door across Cook County on Monday, Aug. 31, to document damage from the Aug. 11–12 storms.

The joint preliminary damage assessments, or JPDAs, will continue through Thursday, Sept. 3. The teams include staff from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Illinois Emergency Management Agency – Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Cook County Emergency Management. They are visiting affected areas countywide to assess homes and businesses.

The results will help state and federal officials decide whether Cook County qualifies for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration. That designation would unlock FEMA Individual Assistance and other federal aid programs for residents.

Park Ridge and Niles homeowners who sustained storm damage should know what to expect if a team arrives:

  • Team members will assess only exterior damage. They will not enter homes or businesses.
  • Every team member will carry official identification.
  • There is no charge for the assessment.

"Our communities have been working hard to recover from the damage caused by these storms, and we want to make sure we have a complete understanding of the impact," Alex Joves, executive director of the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security (EMRS), said in a statement announcing the assessments.

The Aug. 11 storms brought straight-line winds, downed trees and power lines, localized flooding, road closures and structural damage across Cook County. Nearly 290,000 ComEd customers lost power in the immediate aftermath, with the majority of outages in Cook and Will counties, WTTW reported. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle issued a disaster proclamation on Aug. 14. The National Weather Service confirmed three EF-1 tornadoes in south suburban municipalities including Tinley Park, Orland Park and Homewood.

The county has not specified which municipalities the JPDA teams will visit. The announcement describes the effort as covering "affected areas of Cook County," so residents across the county who experienced damage may see teams in their neighborhoods.

The JPDA window closes Thursday, Sept. 3. No timeline has been announced for when officials will report the results or make a disaster-declaration decision.