For some Alaskans struggling with earthquake losses, government aid falls short of expectations
As of Monday, the
That's far short of the maximum of nearly
Earthquake insurance is relatively uncommon in
A half-dozen homeowners interviewed by the
The homeowners described the experience of applying for aid as confusing. Several said they were grateful for the public money they've received, but had expected to receive maximum aid from both
It's also been hard to know why award amounts have varied, homeowners say.
Hope fades to disappointment, frustration
With a sunken foundation and tilted floors,
After two appeals, Manzek has received
"They gave so much hope," Manzek said in an interview. "The state gave so much hope of
[Should you have had earthquake damage insurance on your Southcentral Alaska home? Not necessarily.]
Just five homeowners have received the full amount so far, according to
"You probably lost your house, to get the max grant," Heesch said.
The program also isn't meant to make getting a payout easy. A 1988 federal disaster relief law put strict rules in place to prevent fraudulent or improper payouts of taxpayer money.
Heesch said he would encourage homeowners to exhaust their appeals with
One particularly tenacious homeowner, after weeks of emails to officials, substantially boosted her award.
On Tuesday, an additional
Sharratt said her training as a lawyer and persistence may have worked in her favor. She said it appeared others were also deserving of the higher award.
"I'm concerned with everyone who isn't pushing as hard as I am," Sharratt said.
'It's not for long-term habitation'
Heesch, the
As of early March, building inspectors with the city of
Nearly three-quarters of those inspected have been green-tagged, or declared safe to occupy, according to
Some 682 buildings, however, had been yellow-tagged, restricting use. An additional 71 buildings had been red-tagged and legally declared unsafe.
A yellow tag, which Manzek and Sharratt were both given, means the home is habitable in the short term, Hickel said.
"But ... it's not for long-term habitation. You're going to have to repair it."
The
One of
Of roughly 200
He said he preaches earthquake and flood insurance but doesn't own policies for either, for the same reason as a lot of other people: "It's too damned expensive, and I'm willing to run the risk."
Heesch said his agency tries to manage expectations about the grant program.
Living in the home, Heesch said, is a big indicator the homeowner is not eligible for a large payout.
"If your house is still safe and habitable, then we can't help it," Heesch said. "We're not insurance people."
As an example, Heesch said,
Heesch said he could not explain the specific criteria
"There's no hard and fast," Heesch said. "In the end, it's the opinion of the inspector whether he thinks a sunken foundation is safe or unsafe."
Loans available, but not guaranteed
For homeowners with repair bills that exceed
Of about 900 individual households that applied for the SBA loan, 284 have been approved. Others are turned away because of credit, income or other factors. Thousands more were referred to
For businesses, the SBA has so far approved 13 loans from 60 applications, totaling
A disaster assistance program run through the state of
The payments stopped
Homeowners with earthquake damage must apply for a loan with the
"We realize people don't want loans, but that is how our plan works here in
The process of navigating dual disaster aid programs at different levels of government has sown confusion among earthquake victims. Multiple homeowners reported that state inspectors told them early on they would be recommended for the maximum state aid of about
Homeowners also felt
Sharratt, in
"That is exactly what most of us who have proven we have substantial structural damage to our damaged foundations and collapsed, gaping walls were led to expect," Sharratt wrote in an email to a state official, which she provided to the
Others said the
Her first
In
An engineer gave Cho a yellow tag and wrote in a report that it wasn't safe to live in his house long-term without repairs.
Then, a few weeks later,
Nearby,
Robison applied for an SBA loan last month, but was told it might only cover half the estimated damage.
Cho and Robison in
"We've all come together a lot since the earthquake," Robison said. "It's a crappy situation to bring us all together ... but we're all very good friends now."
In an email chain this week, Sharratt -- the homeowner who successfully boosted her award -- offered to help them write appeals.
___
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