What is known is a larger number of federal disaster officials visited Juneau this week to assess a larger amount of flood damage than last year. What isn’t known yet is if there’s a larger chance federal disaster aid will be approved for people whose homes suffered damage.
More than 300 homes were assessed this week by representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Small Business Administration (SBA), who were joined by state and tribal officials as they went door-to-door, said Mary Jean Edmon, a FEMA Region 10 external affairs officer taking part in this week’s visit, in an interview Friday.
Three teams consisting of about six people each visited the nearly 300 homes on an official preliminary damage list previously compiled by other agencies, plus others that appeared to be damaged, during the four-day tour of neighborhoods that ended Friday, Edmon said.
“As we’re walking throughout the community we’ve seen some folks that have come directly to us that wanted to talk to us, some that we’ve seen visually — just being able to see the damage as we’re walking down the street, seeing water lines — or neighbors who maybe weren’t home or weren’t available to provide that data previously,” she said.
Being assessed is damage from a glacier outburst flood that peaked on Aug. 6, damaging hundreds of homes and vehicles near the Mendenhall River, along with causing damage to public infrastructure such as the Mendenhall Wastewater Treatment Plant. Edmon said one key difference between this year’s flood and one almost exactly a year ago — which damaged or destroyed about 40 homes — is the more extensive focus on residential properties.
“I know this year the team is a lot larger,” she said. “Last year there was more of a request for public assistance than for individual assistance.”
Individual FEMA assistance, if approved, would double the individual assistance available to households under a state disaster declaration that covers up to $22,000 of damage to residences and $22,000 for belongings inside homes. FEMA denied such assistance following last year’s flood, although the SBA did make low-interest loans available to homeowners and businesses. Some federal funding was provided to the City and Borough of Juneau for public infrastructure repairs and upgrades.
It’s too early to say if this year’s flooding will meet the threshold for individual FEMA disaster assistance, Edmon said. This week’s visit is a preliminary damage assessment that will be subject to further review before a decision is announced.
“I can’t say that specifically, but I will say that’s why we’re out here collecting all of the data that we can,” she said. “We’re out here to see it all, to talk to folks, to really know, because the information that we get is what’s provided to us. We’re here at the request of the state with the data that they give us and we just come out here to validate it.”
The Juneau Assembly on Aug. 19 unanimously approved $1.055 million in emergency flood-related spending, including $150,000 for removal of debris and waste, $400,000 in emergency repairs to the wastewater treatment plant, $355,000 for stormwater system damage, and $150,000 to begin evaluating the feasibility of mitigation measures against future floods. As with last year, local officials are seeking FEMA and other funds to cover some such costs.
Deputy City Manager Robert Barr, in an email Friday, stated the city’s preliminary estimate of public damage is about $1.2 million.
“It’s important to note that this is just for repairs/restoration,” he wrote. “Mitigation (i.e. armoring the banks to protect the Field House) is not eligible.”
A key factor in determining federal disaster eligibility is it can’t duplicate other forms of assistance, including state aid and insurance, that are available, Edmon said.
While some public officials have expressed concern Juneau will be denied individual FEMA aid again due to the agency’s limited resources and bigger disasters occurring elsewhere nationally, Edmon said the agency doesn’t have a fixed number of incidents it can declare qualify for such relief.
“There’s no specific number or limit, and it’s not compared throughout the nation,” she said. “There are going to be multiple disasters throughout the year, but that doesn’t determine if assistance is given or needed. It’s based on the other data that we’re finding. Again, we can’t duplicate benefits or duplicate efforts.”
Another federal agency visit next week — with a focus on longer-term solutions — is scheduled as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will collect and evaluate data for a potential study of ways to prevent flooding from Suicide Basin. A list of possible projects presented by city administrators to the Assembly earlier this month included a drainage pipe to redirect the flow of some water and blasting the area around the basin to fill a portion of it with rocks.
A study by the Corps of Engineers would take years, and require both federal funding and a local match. John Budnik, a spokesperson for the agency, stated in an email Thursday such funding has not yet been approved.
“Currently, we are working with our partners at the City and Borough of Juneau, State, and federal agencies on what services the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can provide through its Civil Works program to bring near and long-term solutions regarding the Mendenhall River flooding though a formal study has yet to be initiated,” he wrote.
Edmon said concerns expressed by residents and officials about such flooding reoccurring yearly — and thus making at least some repair efforts seem futile — are not part of FEMA’s considerations when determining if federal disaster assistance is warranted.
People affected by the flooding can apply for individual state assistance until Oct. 9 at ready.alaska.gov or by calling the assistance hotline at (844) 445-7131. Edmon said FEMA officials are also urging local residents to obtain flood insurance if it is possible to do so.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
