Borough mayor declares disaster

Aug. 18, 2006

By Michael Rovito

Frontiersman

Area flooding prompted Mat-Su Borough Mayor Tim Anderson to sign a disaster declaration Friday afternoon as the borough worked with the Department of Transportation and Alaska State Troopers to warn residents of flooding.

The borough is recommending evacuation for residents who live between Mile 7 and 10 on Wasilla-Fishook Road. Officials are urging residents of Shorty Street and Edgerton Parks Road to evacuate immediately.

A shelter is available and open at Larson Elementary off Seldon Road. Emergency shelters are on stand-by at the community center in Willow, Sutton Elementary and Su Valley High, according to a borough news release.

In response to the flooding, the borough is readying more than 2,400 sandbags and is staging its efforts at the Mat-Su landfill. Three Community Emergency Response Team volunteer groups have been activated to fill the sandbags.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning Friday that is scheduled to end at 10 a.m. Sunday, resulting from a week's worth of on-again, off-again rain that soaked the area.

Arleen Lunsford, a hydrometerological and support forecaster working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, said the heavy rain that hit the Valley all day Friday previously was on the west side of the Mat-Su.

At about 1 a.m. Friday, the storm blew into the Valley's east side, raising water levels in rivers and streams to flood level. A report from Hatcher Pass Friday indicated water in the Susitna River was flowing at the top of its banks.

A rain gauge at Independence Mine in Hatcher Pass measured a couple inches of rain around 1 p.m. Friday, 12 hours after the rain storm began, Lunsford said. She added that the amount of rain falling in that time period was significant.

Because of the Susitna River's deluge, Willow Creek in Houston is expected to exceed flood state, but should return to its normal flow just a few days after the heavy rains stop, Lunsford said.

&#8220In Willow it (Willow Creek) will flow over some access roads to cabins,” Lunsford said.

An official from the American Red Cross said Friday that the organization was looking into setting up shelters because of flooding from Talkeetna to Sutton.

The heavy rain that caused the flood problems has been falling in the Talkeetna Mountains and was expected to slow down by Saturday afternoon, according to Louise Fode, a meteorologist at NOAA's Anchorage office.

Light rain is expected to continue in the Valley through Sunday.

The National Weather Service is urging motorist to exercise caution when driving on roads where flooding might occur.

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@frontiersman.com