SALT LAKE CITY — City and county leaders have extended their declarations of emergency related to the 5.7 magnitude earthquake last month to ensure there will be plenty of time to seek federal emergency dollars to pay for damages.
The Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City councils both voted Tuesday to extend the March 18 city and county declarations of emergency until July 6 — anticipating it may take months to seek emergency dollars from a federal government already kept busy by the global coronavirus pandemic.
Salt Lake County officials estimate the quake, with an epicenter that struck Magna, has caused at least $48.5 million in damage to public buildings, including dozens of schools.
That estimate doesn’t include damage to homes and businesses, which is still being tallied ahead of an April 22 deadline for Salt Lake County officials to submit assessments to the state, which is then required to submit an entire package of estimated damages to federal officials for possible recuperation.
Lisa Shaffer, Salt Lake City’s public services director, said it’s not clear yet whether any federal emergency dollars will be coming, and it may take months for Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County and Utah’s requests to be considered by federal officials, who are likely to be preoccupied with the COVID-19 pandemic in coming months.
In the meantime, Shaffer said extension of the emergency declaration would ensure the city would still be eligible to receive those funds when Washington, D.C., officials are able to consider Utah’s request.
“We would like to request this proclamation remain open until we have final determination from FEMA as to whether or not any reimbursement will be available,” Shaffer said
Shaffer noted that it took months for federal money to come to Salt Lake City after a microburst flooded dozens of buildings and nearly 100 homes.
“When you’re dealing with this many layers of government, it’s not going to happen that quickly,” Shaffer said.
Salt Lake City Attorney Katie Lewis said the federal government is “paying attention to a lot of different things” right now, particularly the many declarations of emergencies coming from states due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that’s why the July 6 date for the extension was picked.
By law, mayors can only declare emergencies lasting for 30 days. After those 30 days expire, it’s up to legislative bodies to decide whether and how long to extend the declarations.
It’s not yet clear what damages will or won’t qualify for federal reimbursement. Utah state and local government buildings are likely covered under earthquake insurance policies, but many Utahns don’t have earthquake insurance.
Utahns won’t know whether they could be eligible until after federal officials consider Utah’s reported damage — and only after working first with their own insurance agencies.