Governor: Idaho flood problems just starting; disaster declarations issued

Gov. Butch Otter has signed a state disaster order for Minidoka County, where some 70 miles of roads are currently closed because of damage caused by floodwaters.

“Several miles of roads were damaged or destroyed. Over $650,000 to the county roads,” said Minidoka County Sheriff Eric Snarr. “That does not include the state highways, the state maintained roads or any of the city roads.”

On Thursday, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, Lt. Gov. Brad Little and members of the Idaho National Guard took an aerial tour of the damage throughout the Magic Valley.

Sheriff Snarr said Thursday that 50 to 60 percent of the county has been inundated with water, and four subdivisions had upwards of 4 feet of water in homes.

More than 16,000 sandbags are ready for pickup at the Minidoka County Fairgrounds. More than 30,000 additional sandbags have been give out to residents dealing with flooding, something Idaho’s top officials applaud.

“It’s like any disaster, you want to be there to show help and support and that’s why we’re here today,” Otter said. “That’s why the speaker and lieutenant governor are here with me today because we have to take the word back to the legislature and maybe reconfigure things.”

Minidoka County is one of 18 counties on the governor’s disaster declaration list. Cassia, Gooding and Jerome counties are also on that list. Otter, Little and the National Guard made stops in several communities in those counties.

“This is a long ways from over,” Otter said discussing the possibility of spring flooding. “There is just an awful lot of solid water out there right now that as the weather warms up or we get another rain event that turns that liquid, we are really going to have some problems.”

Otter and his staff are working to secure federal aid to help pay for the damage from the flooding, but several steps must be done before it can be secured.

“In order to establish a federal declaration, we’ve got certain hurdles that we’ve got to cross, so it’s important that we get the word out to everybody, all the county commissioners, the sheriff, all law enforcement, everybody that’s involved that we document that stuff, and we memorialize it, then we get it turned in,” said Otter.

The Idaho National Guard says in order for federal assistance to be granted, financial thresholds must be met. Idaho’s threshold is $2.2 million. Gov. Otter says damage statewide has exceeded that.

Another concern for Minidoka County is damage to dairy farms. The county’s emergency management director says there is a concern ponds will overflow, sending waste into areas that could contaminate supplies. The Environmental Protection Agency was in Minidoka County Friday to assess the risk.

Minidoka County is asking residents to report their damage assessments to help identify the impact to the community.

Forms can be found by clicking here. Email your completed forms (with photo attachments) to minidokacountyflood2017@gmail.com.