Report on storm offers few answers, no solace

So the city of Seattle has finally released a report, tracing the steps that led to that awful December night.

A renegade storm, an overwhelmed, neglected storm drain. A toppled retaining wall. And down in Madison Valley, Kate Fleming was trapped in her basement as it filled with muddy rain water. She drowned that night. She was 41.

Four months later, Fleming's partner, Charlene Strong, is paying rent for a studio apartment in the Cascade neighborhood and a mortgage on the uninhabitable house.

Strong, 43, said she was not terribly surprised by the report's findings but maintains the flooding could have been and should have been prevented.

"I'm not a scientist, but there are cities that have rains and can manage rains," she said. Her neighborhood has a history of drainage problems, a fact the city is well aware of. It shouldn't take a freak storm and the death of a young woman to spur overdue corrective actions, Strong said.

"It should have all been looked at."

The report is now out, but Strong says the city never contacted her to offer condolences or help.

Other residents moved into motels on the city's dime, and received free storage units to keep what they could salvage.

But for Strong, nothing. The city contacted her only once, to see if investigators could go through the house. Mayor Greg Nickels even walked the neighborhood after the Dec. 14 storm. "But he didn't come see me or put a note on my door," Strong said. "He said he would never let this happen again. But he hasn't said how."

Will she sue?

Strong will be discussing that with her attorney, Jenny Durkan, who called the report "a very expensive piece of spin that basically says, 'Rain happens.'

"It fails to answer some very critical questions," she said.

Added Strong: "I want the right thing to be done and for no one else to die."

What made her loss even more painful is that she and Fleming were same-sex partners who did not have the same rights as married couples.

So Strong struggled to get to Fleming's side the night she died at Harborview Medical Center and later to make funeral arrangements.

The experience moved her in January to testify before the state Senate on a bill giving same-sex couples and unmarried seniors some of the rights of married couples.

Strong plans to be there on Saturday when Gov. Christine Gregoire signs the bill into law.

"Everything this bill covers has something to do with everything I went through that night," Strong said.

Fortunately, Fleming's family recognizes Strong as their daughter's widow, and haven't challenged her on anything: the funeral, the estate. Just the other day, Strong and Fleming's mother chose a headstone for Kate. There will be room on it for Strong's name.

As for what lies ahead? Returning to the house where Fleming died will be painful.

"I don't know how I would ever find another way to be there without Kate," Strong said, recalling their backyard barbecues and beers at dusk. "That was 10 years of everything I ever wanted."

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Tuesday and Friday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.

She still says little prayers.