Notes from the Landslide

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“Every day that you’ve got operations going on out there,
contractors deployed, then those costs continue to increase. It’s
impossible to say, it depends on how long it goes.”
The six members of the Assembly who attended Friday night’s
emergency meeting voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance.
It asks the governor to declare a disaster emergency, and
“provide state assistance to the City and Borough of Sitka in
its response and recovery from this event to include the state’s
public assistance, individual assistance, Small Business Administration
and temporary housing as appropriate.”
The declaration of disaster is also needed to be eligible for
federal help, city officials said Friday. City staff has been working
since Tuesday on the ordinance, with guidance on specific
language from the governor’s office.
The ordinance calls attention to the damage in the “whereas”
sections of the ordinance.
“Whereas, the following conditions exist as a result of the disaster
emergency: significant damage to borough and state roads,
power, buildings and other infrastructure to be discovered;
actual damage or threats to several homes requiring evacuation,
alternative housing and sheltering of affected residences.
“Whereas, the unstable ground conditions coupled with the
unavailability of geology expertise to assess affected areas is
hampering body recovery and damage assessment processes; ...”