Whatcom County braces for snow as flood recovery continues

Historic floods hit Whatcom County last month, and some homeowners can't return home without heat as the first snow approaches.

EVERSON, Wash. - Around 1,400 buildings were flooded in Whatcom County, and now property owners are bracing for another bout with Mother Nature: snow.

"I guess the snow is better than one, or two inches of rain," said Aaron Kurashige, a Nooksack resident who spent Sunday in his crawl space trying to get the underneath of his home dried out.

Kurashige, and his neighbors, seem hopeful after a tumultuous few weeks. He said it’s getting harder to find a contractor thanks to the number of homes hit. He said he decided to replace the vapor barrier under his home himself this weekend because he can’t get on any handyman’s schedule for help for a few more weeks.

The biggest concern for Kurashige, and his next-door neighbor Jesse Silva, is the number of homes that stand vacant on their block. Several homes were built a few feet lower – so while Kurashige and Silva are repairing the lower portions of their homes others have no chance to return anytime soon.

"It’s a bit of a ghost town," said Kurashige.

"We’re slammed at work, right now," said Silva, who works in the HVAC industry. "We’re doing ductwork, furnaces, and heat pumps. All sorts of heating activity."

Without heat, and with only so many people able to do repair work, some homeowners are facing the first snow with little changes since the initial flooding.

A shelter in Lynden closed up shop on Friday. The volunteer who was managing it told FOX 13 News that the county is now in charge of residents, adding that some have been put up in hotels in Sumas.

"Following a series of "atmospheric rivers" in November that delivered record-breaking rainfall totals in Whatcom County, officials are continuing to assess flood damages and begin work on recovery.">Following a series of "atmospheric rivers" in November that delivered record-breaking rainfall totals in Whatcom County, officials are continuing to assess flood damages and begin work on recovery.

On Friday the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management put out a preliminary report that indicated approximately $50 million worth of damage was discovered following November’s flooding – that number includes public infrastructure, businesses and homeowners’ property.

"This is the largest, most impactful natural disaster to hit Whatcom County since its founding in 1854," said WCSO DEM deputy director John Gargett.

Silva said he’s most concerned about the homeowners that didn’t have flood insurance. His mortgage required flood insurance due to the county’s flood plain mapping, but until this event he never believed he would need it. Most of his neighbors that sustained the most damage to their homes didn’t have insurance.

"Some of the neighbors have gotten 3 feet in the house and they don’t have flood insurance," said Silva. "We got three inches and we do have flood insurance."

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