Disaster Update
|  Video
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| Amanda Tetlak |
| 4/16/2009 |
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| As many communities recover from flooding, others are still gearing up for their battle. Each town is in a unique situation, so there are many questions about what is being done and what still needs to be done. At a disaster meeting today state agencies updated lawmakers about the flood situation. Lawmakers had a lot of questions about what their responsibility is in the flood fight, some were answered, and others are going to need more time. The National Guard says the Sheyenne River, and the James River Basin are causing the most problems in North Dakota today. Valley City, Lisbon, and Jamestown are still in the middle of a disaster, but the Guard says things are getting under control. "We`re in good shape in terms of responding to those instances where there have been breakouts or where protection needs to be added on an emergency basis," says Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, of the ND National Guard. Now lawmakers want to know just how much money it will take to return the state to normalcy. A rough estimate by the Guard for flood disaster damage is $200 million. The legislature has already footed a $12.5 million bill to the Guard, and Sprynczynatyk is confident the state will be awarded a 90 percent cost share from the federal government, so he says money for flooding repair may not be the problem. Cities and towns are in debt from snow removal, which they won`t receive federal funding for. "So as we speak, without a declaration there, this $34 million of which we`ve put two and a half million dollars toward already, really becomes totally state and local political subdivisions responsibility," says Rep. Merle Boucher, the House minority leader. And that $34 million estimate is expected to rise. "There may be an additional $50 million in road damage across the state that came about because of snow removal," says Sprynczynatyk. "The blading and the fact that county and township roads and city streets too were damaged because of the excessive snow this winter and will have to be repaired." So lawmakers say until the figures become more clear, they won`t know what the state`s responsibility will be, they`ll just have to wait. Emergency Services says they are still gathering rough estimates of damages to send to the Federal Government in order to get the 90 percent cost share. It says it will be done by the close of business on Sunday. |
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