Mayor Peter A. Micciche declared a state of emergency on September 14 for the Kenai Peninsula Borough due to areawide flooding.
This declaration addresses impacts experienced in communities along the Kenai River, neighborhoods adjacent to Kalifornsky Beach Road and rising waters in the Eastern Kenai Peninsula. Reported damages include residential structures and public infrastructure on the Western Kenai Peninsula.
“My utmost priority as the mayor of the KPB is the life, health, and safety of our residents,” says Micciche. “I will take any steps necessary within my authority and through our Emergency Management Team to respond and help mitigate damage to private and public property and the infrastructure we all count on daily. A disaster declaration also approved by the governor would help us in our efforts to continue to provide the resources needed to effectively respond and to return life to normalcy as soon as possible in affected areas.”
“The borough emergency declaration that was signed by Mayor Micciche allows us to use emergency funds to address lifesaving needs,” said Brenda Ahlberg of the Borough Office of Emergency Management. “As a result of unprecedented rains, a culmination of the glacier releases that have happened starting September 7th, as well as this, ground saturation where the water truly doesn’t have anywhere to go, has magnified the area wide concerns that we’re seeing both here on the western side of the peninsula, but also on the eastern side. We continue to monitor the status of those rivers in the event that we see some emerging situations that need to be addressed.”
A disaster declaration by the mayor allows access to emergency borough funds and the expansion of authorities necessary to respond to the high water conditions being experienced within the KPB.
In the event that the governor also declares a disaster as requested, the borough would have the assistance of State of Alaska subject matter experts and potential resources and state funds to address the impacts of flooding.
The declaration has been formally submitted to Governor Michael Dunleavy. With the governor’s approval, the State of Alaska Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management will provide assistance to the Borough and to affected areas as directed.