JUNEAU – Governor Bill Walker announced Monday he has accepted financial support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance Program to address damage caused by an August storm in the North Slope Borough. The Governor’s office was notified late last week that the agency had accepted the state’s request for disaster assistance and issued a presidential proclamation to activate restoration funds.

“The North Slope Borough did an outstanding job protecting their roads and infrastructure as best they could during the August storm. Without their brave efforts, the damages would have been significantly greater,” said Governor Walker. “The State of Alaska has an effective relationship with FEMA, and with their support, we will be able to repair the damage caused by this storm”

Beginning the week of August 27, strong Arctic coastal sea storms along the Northern Arctic Coast produced high waves and washed out seven miles of borough roads. The most significant damage happened in the community of Barrow, and some minor damage was also reported in the village of Wainwright. Governor Walker traveled to Barrow on September 9 to observe damages caused by the storm..

On October 14, Governor Walker signed a Disaster Declaration in order to activate State of Alaska Public Assistance funds and request additional federal support for the recovery efforts. The preliminary damage assessment conducted by the state and FEMA identified $4.6 million in damages to roads and infrastructure, and the two agencies will now share the cost of those repairs on a 25%/75% basis.

The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will work with the North Slope Borough and FEMA to oversee the recovery efforts and ensure all documentation requirements are met.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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