Flood damage is being assessed

Local agencies have started gathering damage assessments from the past week's onslaught of storms and flooding, and some counties expect to have preliminary loss estimates by early next week.

The state's Emergency Management Division has requested public and private loss assessments from up to a dozen Western Washington county governments, including King, Pierce and Snohomish. The amount will help determine whether federal aid is sought.

In King County, residents and business owners can report damage to uninsured property online at http://your.kingcounty.gov/prepare/damage. A telephone hotline for reporting damage will be set up next week.

Jeff Bowers, assistant director of the King County Office of Emergency Management, said the county is in the process of tabulating damage to public facilities.

"If we see that there is widespread damage throughout the county or throughout the state, then we can request from the federal government that they declare a disaster area, and that would free up federal assistance," Bowers said.

"We are working as quickly as we can to assess what damages occurred," he said.

Snohomish County has set a deadline — 5 p.m. next Wednesday — for county residents, businesses and municipalities to report flood damage to the county's Department of Emergency Management. Reports can be made online at www.snoco.org/departments/emergency_management, or by calling 425-388-5060.

Flooding caused potential damage in several areas of unincorporated Snohomish County, and in a number of cities, including Index, Gold Bar, Sultan, Monroe, Snohomish, Granite Falls and Arlington.

The county's Public Works Department has been inspecting about 30 roads and bridges that were closed or damaged because of flooding.

Homeowners, renters and businesses who experienced damage should contact their local emergency-operations center as soon as possible.

When reporting damage, callers should be prepared to provide the address and name, if necessary, of affected property; any insurance coverage; a description of damage, even if uninsured; and a personal estimate of uninsured losses. A rough estimate is acceptable.

The state's Emergency Operations Center returned to normal operations late Thursday after 44 hours of Phase II activation due to flooding on numerous Western Washington rivers.

Charles E. Brown: 206-464-2206 or cbrown@seattletimes.com