SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. — Recovering from recent flooding is still proving to be a major challenge for so many across western Washington.
In Skagit County, state and county officials are working to help point people in the right direction.
Burlington’s parks and rec center is just one of a few spots where disaster assistance centers have been set up, where flood victims are visiting to try to get an idea of the financial assistance they might be able to get.
“It was super hard as we were flooding to see like my kids’ toys floating away, and he had actually found our toy box at our neighbor’s house, so that had like really sentimental toys,” said Emilie and Mark Obertacz. They’ve had an emotional couple of weeks after their family home flooded.
Now, like so many flood victims, they are wondering how much help they’ll get to rebuild.
The couple joined other community members looking for answers at a disaster assistance center, set up with workers from the county and state to navigate the possibility of federal financial assistance.
“Basically, they told me... have to wait for FEMA to declare us as a disaster, so once that happens, hopefully, FEMA will come in and issue us some money, and so we can help rebuild our home,” Emilie said. “It’s like, ‘Ok, we’ve exhausted all of our funds, like we can’t max our credit cards any more than we already have,’ so I mean, it’s just waiting.”
Another disaster assistance center was set up at the town hall in Hamilton, where workers are helping victims understand what their insurance covers and does not cover.
Mayor Mandy Bates, whose business was flooded, says she is hearing frustration across the town.
“Some are saying they put in their claim number, and then you know it’s booting them back out of the system, so it’s just... they just gotta have patience,” said the mayor.
Parked outside was a Department of Social and Health Services truck – helping people on food stamps replace their food that was destroyed.
“We look at what their allotment is, and we look approximately how much they spent right before the flooding happened, and then we can replace up to their allotment if they spent it all right before the flooding happened,” said a representative with DSHS.
Lots of people are looking for help, looking to make a FEMA claim, or hoping they can get assistance, but right now, it is a waiting game for many.
Officials say anyone who isn’t able to get to one of these centers should go to the county’s website for help. KIRO 7 was told that if there’s demand, more of these opportunities could be made available in the near future.