Relief efforts underway in Nisqually Valley after flood
In the wake of extensive flooding in the Nisqually Valley in early February, residents are returning, work crews are in recovery mode, and United Way of Thurston County is coordinating donations from people who want to help.
The latest numbers from Thurston County Emergency Management report 33 homes with major damage, 30 with minor damage, and 16 homes “affected.” An affected home may have a flooded crawl space that doesn’t effect an area where people live, for example.
Approximately 700 to 1,000 people were affected by evacuations last week.
Crews with the Washington Conservation Corps (WCC), an AmeriCorps program within the Department of Ecology, have been delivering water and information, assessing homes, removing debris, and preparing to help residents muck out and gut their homes this week.
A boil water notice Thurston County Public Health issued Sunday is still in effect, and Phill VanKessel, a WCC supervisor, told The Olympian Thursday there were still homes crews couldn’t access.
“There’s a lot of debris and water damage,” VanKessel said.
One home WCC assessed Thursday, on Hayko Lane Southeast, had lines on the door to the basement that showed water rose to 5 feet or higher.
Luckily, the house had been raised off the ground after a previous flood. An outbuilding and the unfinished basement filled with water, but the area where two tenants live was unaffected.
Homeowner Memo Jimenez said his was “one of the luckier” homes in the neighborhood. His neighbors, he said, were ripping out flooring.
Jamie Roden, who’s been renting the home for a little over a year, said she evacuated last Thursday — she and her boyfriend rowed out to their vehicle in a canoe — and planned to return this Friday.
She didn’t take advantage of the emergency shelter in Lacey, established by the American Red Cross, and opted to stay with family nearby.
Emergency Management lifted its evacuation advisory Sunday and the shelter in Lacey closed earlier this week as floodwaters subsided, but there’s still help available for those who need a place to stay.
The United Way of Thurston County (UWTC) activated its Emergency Assistance Fund this week and is using it to pay for vouchers that allow displaced residents to stay at a local hotel free of charge.
Chris Wells, executive director of UWTC, told The Olympian the organization identified shelter as a need in the first hours after the evacuation was lifted.
“Our concern at United Way is, when you’ve got inaccessible homes and homes that sustained major damage — roughly 45 households of people who might be displaced for weeks — what are their long-term shelter options?” Wells said.
People who are displaced and need shelter are directed to call the Community Action Council of Lewis, Mason & Thurston Counties (CAC), which is managing distribution of the Emergency Assistance Fund. The Community Action Council can be reached at 360-438-1100.
Donations to the Emergency Assistance Fund can be made online at https://www.unitedway-thurston.org/eaf
Wells said the fund is used only for these acute local emergencies. Any leftover money will be held until the next time the fund is activated, she said.
This story was originally published February 13, 2020 at 4:15 PM.
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