Federal, State and Borough representatives vi

Flood Incident Recovery Center, Palmer - Two teams of FEMA, Small Business Administration (SBA) and state representatives, guided by Borough Assessors, visited 154 flood impacted structure and dwelling sites on Monday and Tuesday this week to assess damages that occurred during the recent flooding in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.

The site visits included 19 business sites. At least 25 dwellings, including the four dwellings that were washed away and a few dwellings hanging over the river, were identified as having major damage, with most of the other dwellings were identified as having minor damage. The teams were well received by property owners. The federal representatives were impressed with the organized approach, pictures, and documentation provided by the Borough assessors.

Borough Department of Public Works personnel completed site visits with FEMA and state personnel to flood impacted roads and bridges Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The group visited 13 major road damage sites and 9 major bridge damage sites.

These site visits went well with FEMA representatives complimenting Borough personnel on the professionalism of the kickoff presentation, the organized, thorough documentation for site damages and costs, and the work that has been completed at the sites. The Borough was also complimented for using an independent engineering firm to provide "arms length" information regarding "permanent" and "hazard mitigation" costs and repairs.

FEMA representatives indicated that estimated "permanent" repair costs appeared to be in the ballpark of the actual costs. State and FEMA representatives will consider the damage assessment information gained during the site visits and, respectively, make recommendations to the Governor and President.

For more information on the site visits, contact Dave Hanson, Incident Recovery Coordinator, at (907) 745-9508.