Beulah reaches out to Water Board for flood help
By Lee Coleman
One week after the Centennial celebration in Beulah August 16, five inches of rain created a flash flood that raced through parts of Beulah, creating havoc and leaving the city with about $555,000 in city infrastructure damage.
Governor Jack Dalrymple made a declaration of emergency, making Beulah eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to fix the repairs.
The city submitted the proper paperwork to FEMA but to this day, the funding has not come through because U.S. President Barack Obama has not signed off on the declaration according to Beulah City coordinator Russell Duppong.
Duppong appeared last week at the Mercer County Water Resource Board meeting and asked for help in speeding up the process. He said two different FEMA agents have been to Beulah without any results.
“It was like we were on trial,” Duppong said of the meetings. “It is very frustrating to work with FEMA.”
Some options may become feasible down the road including new, larger culverts and work on the bridge. In addition, Duppong cited safety concerns along the bike path in the city.
