Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs declared a state of emergency on April 13 following flooding in March across Yavapai County.
Hobbes’ office said the delay in issuing the declaration was due to waiting for requests for help from local governments.
“Camp Verde and other nearby areas hit by extreme weather last month will receive much-needed relief,” the Hobbes office said in a press release. “The state of emergency will allow the region to repair critical infrastructure damaged by the floods.”
The state of emergency covers damage occurring between March 15th and March 23rd, so there will be no shortage of funds for Yavapai County. Duke Jones, head of the welfare branch of the Arizona Emergency Management Department, said the damages would likely be below the level needed to declare a federal emergency.
“One of the problems with the event was that it was difficult for local residents to determine exactly when the event started and ended,” Jones said. “The filing process itself to verify the information may take a little longer.”
Camp Verde crisis manager Heather Vinson said the March floods were the third-largest flooding event the town has experienced, but nearly a week after a week-long flood. He said additional flooding had made it more difficult.
“Both of these floods are seen as one event, which is important for the declaration and for those who are dealing with the damage,” Vinson said.
Arizona Department of Crisis Management
State of emergency declaration allocates $200,000 from the state’s General Fund to the Arizona Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates emergency preparedness, response and recovery efforts in Arizona, to support the agency in cleanup efforts in Yavapai County given the authority to adjust state assets that However, the use of this public assistance fund is limited to the repair of public infrastructure. Funds are never passed to individuals or businesses.
$200,000 is the maximum a governor can mandate for a single disaster. Additional funding may be requested and must be approved by the State Emergency Council if Emergency Management Department personnel determine that additional funding is required.
“Governors can turn on the $200,000 tap, but to keep that water running, the state emergency council must approve these expenditures and eventually shut the tap,” Jones said. said.
Yavapai County
Yavapai County emergency manager Ashley Earlequist said there was little damage to Yavapai County’s infrastructure, but the county has not sought compensation for the damage caused. However, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office plans to seek reimbursement for overtime costs associated with responding to the March flood emergency. The amount of overtime compensation the department is seeking has not yet been determined.
camp verde
Flooding damaged more than a mile of Verde Lakes Drive. A preliminary estimate for the town’s repair costs is between $160,000 and $180,000. Vinson said the figure doesn’t include mitigation costs to make it more resilient to future floods, such as building a retaining wall that Camp Verde wants to work on.
“We know that taking mitigation and restructuring measures will probably take precedence over the amount of funding available for emergency parts,” Vinson said, adding that the town will decide later in the week what it will ask for. I added that it would.
“There was no property damage to town buildings,” Vinson said. “Homes have been damaged. What we have been doing is referring these residents to the Yavapai County Emergency Management Agency. They have a few other resources. You can pass through the state because there is a 1684254819 Please apply for funding. ”
Copper Canyon Fire Medical District Fire Marshal Nate Bailey said the fire district and Camp Verde Sheriff’s Office will seek reimbursement for overtime associated with the rescue effort. Bailey said proceedings are ongoing between local authorities and Yavapai County and the final amount is yet to be determined.
Sedona
City of Sedona Public Relations Manager Lauren Brown said the city had not been informed of any flood damage to municipal or private property and said, “Most property in Sedona that may have been damaged was in Coconino. in the county,” he said.
The state’s state of emergency declaration applies only to Yavapai County. The Coconino County Emergency Management Agency did not report any flood damage to the interior structures of the homes, and the extent of the flood damage was limited to the roads, said Tim Carter, the county’s assistant director of emergency management.
chino valley
Chino Valley Public Works Director Frank Marbury estimated the cost of repairing Chino Valley’s flood damage at $100,000 to $250,000. The hardest-hit area was the 6,000-foot section of Perkinsville Road across Granite Creek east of town.
A county lot was built across the creek, and roads are the only means of transportation in and out of the area.
According to Marbury, Prescott released excess water from Lake Willow and Lake Watson into Granite Creek to prevent the dams damming Lake Willow and Lake Watson from exceeding the discharge limit of the spillway. said to have deteriorated further.
“After the water had fallen low enough to flow through the culvert pipes again, the town’s street troops loaded about 100 trucks. [about 1,400 tons] We need a day and a half to procure road foundation materials to reopen the roads,” Marbury said. “Some of the culvert pipes are damaged and still require repair or replacement.”
The town does not have a schedule to create an improved intersection on Perkinsville Road. Marbury said it would take at least five to 10 years and millions of dollars to build an all-weather intersection. While the town is working with other government agencies to build a fortified crossroads on site, Chino Valley’s priority is to secure funding for urgently needed repairs.
The town is also considering compensating the police department and possibly the Arizona Rangers.
