Murkowski Memo: Western Alaska Storm Recovery Update
Dear Alaskan,
On September 16, remnants of Typhoon Merbok produced widespread damage to communities in Western Alaska—flooding homes and businesses, damaging infrastructure for power and water, as well as roads and bridges; and impacting approximately 1,000 miles of coastline. I monitored the storm closely and after receiving the initial reports of the impacts, I headed to impacted communities – Elim, Nome and Golovin, and was joined by Representative Peltola in a visit to Hooper Bay and Chevak – to see firsthand the extent of the damage. With cold weather and freeze-up right around the corner, it is critical that those in the impacted regions have the resources necessary to provide heating fuel for winter and to quickly continue the process of rebuilding.
We are fortunate to have well-prepared state and local emergency management teams, skilled first responders, and dedicated public works personnel on the ground immediately following the storm. I thank each and every person who has pitched in – whether it be a community member helping out a neighbor, National Guard members stationed throughout various communities, local leadership who continue to provide assurance and guidance to your communities, and so many others.
U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, Representative Mary Sattler Peltola, Governor Dunleavy and I were united in advocating for Alaska to have as much immediate support as possible and our efforts paid off. We recently welcomed announcements that the President issued a major disaster declaration to support Western Alaska’s recovery and also approved our request to waive 100 percent of the state’s cost share for individual and public assistance for recovery efforts for the next 30 days.
This federal assistance is critical for the recovery of the impacted communities, but we have to work together to ensure everyone has the resources and information they need. For questions on applying for aid, please email storm@ready.alaska.gov.
Lisa
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