Damage Assessment important step in Red Cross response

red cross volunteer outside a tornado damaged apartment building.

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An apartment building in the St. Louis suburb of Arnold, MO, received heavy damage from a tornado that struck the area. (Red Cross photo by Carl Manning)

red cross volunteer standing next to a red cross vehicle and a tornado damaged apartment building.

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Red Cross volunteer Dan Vehlewald is a member of a Damage Assessment (DA) team that is gathers information about the extent and location of damage caused by a recent tornado in the St. Louis area. (Red Cross photo by Carl Manning)

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Red Cross volunteer Dan Vehlewald is a member of a Damage Assessment (DA) team that is gathers information about the extent and location of damage caused by a recent tornado in the St. Louis area. (Red Cross photo by Carl Manning)

March 18, 2025

By Carl Manning
American Red Cross

When disasters like the recent storms in Missouri and Arkansas strike, one of the first questions is: how severe is the damage?

This is where the American Red Cross steps in with its Damage Assessment (DA) operations, a critical first response to evaluate the extent and location of destruction.

“The information gathered by the teams helps the Red Cross plan the best way to deploy its resources for those in need,” said Red Cross volunteer Ken Barger, who is managing the DA operations in the St. Louis area.

Ken mentioned that the information gathered by the teams will assist those whose homes sustained major damage or were completely destroyed, often leaving them with little more than the clothes on their backs.

He said the reason he became a volunteer was that his son’s apartment was damaged in a building fire, and the Red Cross was there to help.

“When I retired, I decided to work with the Red Cross to help people,” said Ken, who also responds to home fires in the St. Louis area as a member of the Disaster Action Team, just like the one that was there for his son.

Red Crosser Dan Vehlewald is a DA team member gathering information recently in the Arnold, MO area where the tornado touched down.

Among his stops was an apartment complex where a 24-unit building suffered heavy damage, with sections of the roof torn off and parts of the structure reduced to a pile of bricks and twisted metal. Three other buildings in the complex sustained minor damage, their roofs now covered with blue tarps.

Dan has participated in Red Cross deployments for hurricanes in Florida, as well as for flooding and tornado damage in Missouri. He does it for one simple reason:

“It’s no fun seeing people hurting, but I’m glad to help in some small way,” Dan said. “I get to go home in a couple of weeks, but these people are here dealing with their losses, and I want to do what I can to help them recover.”

Dan decided to join the Red Cross because he wanted to make a difference.

“For me, it’s imperative to help people,” he said.