A video posted by Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management on September 15th shows the raw extent of flooding along the Kenai River.
The video was accompanied by a message from OEM;
“This post is done with the utmost respect for the property owners that have been greatly impacted by the Kenai River flood event. The images are a collection of field work completed September 12-14th. Field work with continue as the water recedes.
NOTE: The map correlates with the footage by river miles.The Office of Emergency Management, Incident Management Team continues to collect data on impacted neighborhoods: how many parcels, number of residential structures, roadways, etc. This information is being relayed to the State for the Governor’s consideration to approve a State Disaster Declaration. Only under the state declaration may individual assistance funds become available to eligible, primary residential properties. The Borough is not authorized to spend tax dollars on individual assistance programs.
What does this local emergency declaration mean to you right now? Mayor Peter A. Micciche approved the local declaration in response to areawide flooding across the Kenai Peninsula Borough on Thursday 09/14/23, authorizes local funds to be used for protective measures that may minimize impacts to life safety and public health during this flooding event. The funds cannot be distributed for private property damages, but may be used to repair borough-owned roads to ensure safe ingress/egress. Repairs to borough-owned roads will start once it is safe and waters have receded. The Borough will coordinate with the State Emergency Operations Center to bring in additional resources should the Governor approved the state disaster declaration.”
The Kenai River flooded after heavy sustained, seasonal rainfall prompted the unprecedented release of two glacier-dammed lakes.
The state of emergency declaration was declared by Borough Mayor Peter Micciche on Thursday, September 14th.
