Sen. Jesse Kiehl and Rep. Andi Story have introduced a pair of bills that would more than double the amount of aid Alaska can give out to people affected by disasters.
Kiehl, a Juneau Democrat, introduced his proposal last week. He said he believes state aid fell short during recent natural disasters, like the 2020 Beach Road landslide in Haines and last summer’s glacial outburst flood in Juneau.
“I’ve seen now a couple of disasters in my district and looked at others around the state,” Kiehl said. “And I’ve seen just how much more we need to do to help Alaskans get back on their feet — or at least back towards their feet.”
When the state issues a disaster declaration, people with homes that were damaged or destroyed are eligible for grants to rebuild or repair their homes or replace their essential belongings.
For now, those grants max out at $21,500 each. Both the Senate and House versions of the new bill would bump that up to $50,000.
“We’ll never be able to afford, as a state, to cover it all,” Kiehl said. “And this doesn’t replace insurance. But so many of these disasters aren’t actually things you can get insurance to protect yourself from.”
Landslide insurance isn’t available in Alaska. And residents affected by Juneau’s glacial outburst flood struggled to get insurance payouts. The flood affected areas that were not in an official flood zone, so many affected homeowners didn’t have flood insurance.
Kiehl said the outburst flood also showed how some homeowners were excluded from state aid. Under state law, homeowners associations have to share the cost of disaster repairs, but their individual members don’t qualify for aid.
When the floodwaters eroded the river bank and swept away the foundation of a building at the Riverside Condominiums, residents had to pay for a million dollars of repair work out of pocket.
“And so the bill fixes that,” Kiehl said. “It says that if the damage was because of the disaster, you can use your disaster assistance for your share of that shared responsibility.”
Last year Alaska had three declared state disasters — the Juneau outburst flood, spring flooding around the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers and the deadly landslide in Wrangell.
And human-caused climate change is making destructive disasters more common. Last year was a record year for billion dollar disasters across the country. That’s increasing demand for federal aid.
Story, a Juneau Democrat, said that makes it even more important for the state to step up.
“It’s important to me that citizens of Alaska have some resources to get them through the disaster, to give them hope that financially they’re going to get through this and the state is behind them,” she said.
Both lawmakers said they hope at least one version of the bill will pass this session.
