Whatcom officials share efforts to speed flood recovery, talk about future prevention

Feb. 10--Flood-stricken northern Whatcom County residents expressed gratitude, frustration, fear and some anger Saturday as they learned more about the disaster that struck Feb. 1-2 when the rain-swollen Nooksack River inundated dozens of homes and businesses.

State, county and federal officials discussed the situation with about 200 people during a special meeting Saturday, Feb. 8, at Nooksack Valley High School in an effort to speed the recovery and rebuilding process.

They briefly addressed flood-control measures -- such as dredging the river -- that could be taken and assured residents that they would seek state and federal funding for current relief and future prevention.

"We spoke with a lot of people today who are having a very hard time," said Virginia Malmquist of the American Red Cross.

Malmquist, who lives just south of Everson, provides mental health counseling for disaster victims.

Red Cross volunteers also have been providing free cleanup supplies and other aid to residents affected by flooding -- from Lummi Nation and low-lying Marietta on the Nooksack Delta to the farming towns of Everson, Nooksack and Sumas where the Nooksack topped a levee.

Leea Heeringa, who lives with her family on a dairy farm of 700 cows southeast of Sumas, said she and her husband heard the Sumas emergency siren and watched the water approaching quickly from across their fields.

"Not knowing anything, my neighbor not knowing anything -- it was really scary," Heeringa told The Bellingham Herald.

She said their barns filled with water and their furnace ducts flooded, but water stayed mostly out of their house.

"It was really scary," Heeringa said. "I was worried about the cows and calves. We didn't lose any -- I'm thankful. I'm thankful that we didn't lose any. But we couldn't do anything."

Damage to homes

Jamie Severson of Nooksack was examining brochures about flood relief as he contemplated the damage to his mother's home.

"The house got water in the crawlspace and all around it," he told The Herald. "She doesn't have flood insurance. I'm sure there's water in the insulation."

Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu said officials would fast track building permits and provide extra assistance to home and business owners trying to rebuild.

"We would really like to help you in this process," Sidhu told the audience. " I know a lot of your minds are on financial assistance. This process will take months. I don't want to tell you that this will take two weeks to bring you back to normal -- your families, your kids, your lives."

County Assessor Rebecca Xczar said residents will be receiving their property tax bills soon but that those who suffered flood losses can get relief because their property values will decline.

John Gargett, deputy director of the Sheriff's Office Division of Emergency Management, encouraged flood victims to report any loss, no matter how small, because damages must meet certain monetary thresholds to be eligible for federal aid.

Cause of flooding

"The bottom line, is we live in a place where we have a tremendous amount of rain," said Jon Hutchings, director of the county Public Works Department.

He said the warm tropical storm dropped rain in the mountains and sent torrents of water down the Nooksack.

"Those rain-on-snow events, of course, it causes a lot of water to come down," he said. "It was this kind of event that we experienced last week. There's no good way -- other than experience -- for us to know how high the water will go and reach people's homes."

Hutchings said floodwaters push "slugs" of sand and gravel downstream and those can cause the river to roil over them and flood.

Mayor John Perry of Everson said he thinks it was such a slug of sand that caused the river to surge over the levee in Everson. When that happens, water surges downhill into neighboring Nooksack, and then across fields and creeks into Sumas.

Percy Houkema, who farms near the Everson Overflow where the floodwaters historically top the levee, said he believes the disaster was predictable and preventable.

"The flood that Sumas got this time was not an act of God, it was an act of stupidity," he said.

Mayor Kyle Christensen of Sumas promised to seek flood prevention measures, without going into specifics.

"Part of my job moving forward is to talk about a permanent solution," he told the audience. "But I think we can do that at a later date. (Washington Gov. Jay Inslee) called me himself and that means a lot."

Christensen praised police officers, volunteer firefighters, local residents and others who worked alongside him for two days straight as floodwaters inundated the city.

"The community was amazing," he said.

But Gargett said it was Christensen who truly deserves praise.

"When he saw his house was filling with water, what he did was put his boots on and go to work," Gargett said.

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