Some $4.7 million of the total $11.2 million in FEMA aid went to Whatcom County, which suffered more than $150 million in damages from two rounds of severe Nooksack River flooding after drenching storm systems hit Western Washington in the second half of November 2021.
Grants went to 878 people and households in Whatcom County, including Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe members, said FEMA spokesman Ricardo Zuniga in an email to The Bellingham Herald.
An Everson man was killed when his car was swept away by floodwaters in Whatcom County’s worst modern disaster in terms of scope and monetary loss.
An estimated 1,000 people were displaced statewide, including 500 Whatcom County residents.
Millions in damage were reported to government infrastructure — mostly in terms of damaged roads, culverts and bridges.
In addition to the FEMA grants, $11.3 million in loans was distributed statewide through the U.S. Small Business Administration.
SBA spokeswoman Louise Porter told The Herald that there were 1,990 FEMA registrations statewide through Friday, March 25, but that numbers aren’t final.
In Whatcom County, there have been 1,510 FEMA registrations and 1,181 of those have been referred to the SBA for home and personal property, Porter said in an email.
SBA has received 305 applications for home and personal property and 167 have been approved for a total of $8.6 million, she said.
In addition, 243 businesses were referred to SBA in Whatcom County for physical damage and 39 with economic injury.
So far, 62 SBA has received 62 applications for physical damage and five for economic injury.
Some 14 business loans for physical damage have been approved in Whatcom County for a total of $1.7 million.
Another $19.8 million was provided statewide through the National Flood Insurance Program, according to the statement.
Information wasn’t immediately available about the value of SBA loans and flood-insurance funds issued in Whatcom County.
A deadline has been extended until April 8 to apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance to help those who lost work because of the flooding.
FEMA’s Disaster Survivor Assistance teams helped more than 1,700 survivors apply for aid since President Biden issued a federal disaster declaration in January, the statement said.
Biden’s disaster-assistance order covered Clallam, Skagit, Whatcom counties and Lummi Nation, the Nooksack Indian Tribe and the Quileute Tribe.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee designated Whatcom County as a disaster area for state funding purposes after visiting the devastation after the first round of flooding in Everson, and he and the state’s congressional delegation asked Biden to approve federal aid.
Local donations
Through late February, donations to the Whatcom Community Foundation and Whatcom Strong topped $1.7 million, including cash for food gas, temporary housing and cleaning supplies.
Local businesses, religious and civic organizations as diverse as Phillips 66, the Riveters Collective and the Whatcom County Sikhs donated time and money for the recovery effort in November and December 2021.
State aid
Millions were made available to Whatcom County residents, businesses and government in the state legislative session that closed in March.
State Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, told The Herald for an earlier story that she and her 42nd District colleague Rep. Alicia Rule, D- Blaine, “divvied up work before session and were able to secure funding and commitments for mid- and long-term work” before the state’s part-time Legislature adjourned.
Rule had two bills to create programs to support small businesses and farmers that became part of a $20 million budget proviso for a statewide program to assist small businesses recovering from a natural disaster, Shewmake told The Herald in an email.
“To address mid/long-term needs, we fought for $2 million from the capital budget to buy frequently flooded properties in Whatcom County, as well as targeted investments around our community,” Shewmake said.
“There is $2 million to repair and prepare schools in the Nooksack Valley School District, $14 million to elevate Slater Road from frequent flooding, and another $2 million for the (Fire) Station 34 replacement which serves Marietta and Lummi Peninsula and whose function can be critical in responding to floods,” Shewmake said.
State Sen. Simon Sefzik, who was appointed by the Whatcom County Council to replace the late Sen. Doug Ericksen at the start of the Legislature’s 2022 term in January, told The Herald that flood relief should remain a priority.
This story was originally published March 27, 2022 5:00 AM.
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