Officials tracking impacts of historic flooding; residents urged to report damage
Evacuation orders have lifted across parts of Pierce County, but crews are still hard at work assessing the damage.
David Kennedy, a spokesperson for the Pierce County Emergency Management (PCEM) office, told The News Tribune Friday that the county is still working to figure out how many homes, buildings, streets and bridges were damaged during the floods earlier this week. The floods were part of a larger atmospheric river event that hit all of Western Washington, including Orting, South Prairie, Sumner and Puyallup.
“Pierce County continues to respond to impacts associated with the atmospheric river and widespread flooding across the region this week. Residents and businesses affected by the severe weather are encouraged to report damages to help the County assess impacts and coordinate recovery efforts,” PCEM wrote in a news release on Friday afternoon. “Reporting damage is an important first step in determining community needs and may be required before state or federal disaster assistance becomes available.”
To report damage, visit www.PierceCountyWA.gov/ReportDamage. That site includes options for residents, businesses and public entities.
Residents can report damages and learn more information about disaster assistance programs that could help with losses not covered by insurance.
Businesses can report their businesses losses “to help assess economic impacts” and determine whether they are eligible for state or federal recovery assistance.
Public entities can “access information on FEMA Public Assistance, including reimbursement for debris removal, emergency protective measures, infrastructure repairs, and mitigation efforts.”
At a news conference on Friday, Gov. Bob Ferguson said the Trump Administration has green-lit Washington state’s request for emergency assistance. Ferguson put in the request on Wednesday, the same date he declared a statewide emergency.
Ferguson said there was no loss of human life in the floods, but that water levels reached historic highs and will stay high for a while.
“Whether it’s individuals or whether that’s impacts to local jurisdictions, to our infrastructure, there’s going to be massive impacts as we dig ourselves out from this,” he said. “The one thing I can guarantee is we’ll move as quickly as we can.”
