This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
Washington is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to declare December’s historic flooding a major disaster. At a news conference on Tuesday, Governor Bob Ferguson said the preliminary damage estimate to the state’s infrastructure is $182.3 million.
“In terms of damage assessments that we are submitting to FEMA, this historic flooding resulted in, we believe, the largest dollar amount of public infrastructure damage in Washington in more than four decades, and that’s accounting for inflation,” Ferguson said.
The request has bipartisan support. If approved, the federal government could reimburse up to 75% of repair costs.
Requested funding would go toward repairs, prevention
Ferguson is submitting the disaster request to cover debris cleanup and repairs to roads, bridges, and buildings. The state is also seeking up to $36.6 million in grants to build flood walls and other infrastructure to prevent future damage.
“The damage in many parts of our state, as I’ve mentioned many times, would have been even worse, significantly worse, without infrastructure to protect against the flooding,” Ferguson said. “A flood wall was recently constructed in Mount Vernon, just in the last decade. It’s clear that the flood wall saved downtown from being flooded and saved an awful lot of pain and suffering costs to many Washingtonians.”
These requests are separate from the $21.3 million Ferguson sought from FEMA last month. That money would go to individuals whose homes were damaged or destroyed.
That request included Chelan, Grays Harbor, King, Lewis, Pacific, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom counties, as well as 15 federally recognized Tribal nations.
Ferguson said he was on the phone with FEMA as the disaster unfolded. He and his team described what they saw.
“We walked through the numerous highway closures,” Ferguson told reporters in December. “We walked through the flood levels. We walked through tens of thousands of Washingtonians being evacuated.”
Atmospheric rivers and winter storms damaged nearly 4,000 homes and forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate. One person died.
“The scale, duration, and severity of this disaster overwhelmed local and state response capabilities,” Ferguson said. “Thousands of families experienced devastating loss. Federal assistance is essential to help Washingtonians recover from these historic floods.”
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
©2026 Cox Media Group
