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By Sean Maguire |
Posted: Wed 6:30 PM, Sep 04, 2019
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ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - Nine months after the Nov. 30 earthquake rocked Southcentral Alaska, homeowners are still busy rebuilding.
Jeremy Ryan, the associate principal at DCI Engineers, says his firm is still getting three, four, and sometimes as many as six calls a week, for a damage assessment by a structural engineer.
The vast majority of the damage is from foundation settlement, says Ryan, who describes that it’s often realtors and buyers who notice problems during a sale. Snow also hid a lot of the earthquake’s effects over winter.
Sand Lake homeowner Eugene Cho has experienced damage to the foundations of his own home. Doors have not been opening properly and Cho says the “house is still a little lopsided.”
Across Anchorage, Bob Doehl, the city’s building official, says there are still ten buildings that are red tagged as unsafe to occupy, in Eagle River there are 41 red tagged buildings.
Doehl says the delay in reconstructing the homes is because homeowners have often struggled to gather together funds. But help has been coming from the state and federal governments.
Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson for the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, says around $100 million has been given in individual assistance.
Larger community projects could see as much as $300 million from the state and feds but Zidek explains those funds could take as long as 4-5 years to roll out.
For Cho, the roughly $30,000 in individual assistance has made a big difference. He estimates the total damage to his home at $50,000 to $90,000.
Hiring construction workers to make repairs has also been tough for some homeowners. It was only in May-June that federal and state funds were released and many insurance claims were approved.
Doehl said those extra funds saw a rush of builders working on earthquake repairs, bringing the number of red tagged buildings in Anchorage down from 19 in May.
Copyright 2019 KTUU. All rights reserved.
8 comments:
Sad but true. Working on a commercial building brings a LOT more money than doing residential. And slow money doesn't help...
Just so. And the article didn’t mention that the number of repairs needed outnumber the available contractors.
Nine months already!
At least your home is coming along, and mostly finished.
The number one problem all contractors face is getting paid, especially paid in full. They go where the money is the surest first. Who can blame them?
I understand that very well, sir. If my years as a facilities manager didn't teach me anything else, that was a large part of the puzzle. "Who you know" is a bigger deal up here than anywhere else I've ever lived or worked.
Glad to hear the wheels are turning, at least.
That’s a great comfort as winter approaches.
Thank you, Linda.
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