Lewis County residents can now reach out to the state for help with overcoming the costs of repairs and damages due to recent flooding in Western Washington.
Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office announced Thursday that it would expand its disaster relief funds, making $2.5 million available to residents of Lewis and Pierce counties in addition to other areas already approved for the funding.
Low-income Lewis County residents with homes that sustained serious flood or storm damage last month can apply for state recovery funds through the state’s Individual Assistance Program.
People with an income 80% or less of the region's median income and with a residence that has been completely destroyed or significantly damaged by flooding between Dec. 5 and Dec. 22 of last year are eligible to apply for the assistance funds.
Significant damage is generally considered flood water reaching the electrical sockets of a home.
Damage to any housing unit — including apartments, houses, manufactured homes, recreational vehicles and any living space that includes a place for cooking, a place for eating and a place for “sanitation” — is considered a housing unit. The amount of money given to residents depends on the size of the household.
Cash assistance is also available through the Household Needs Grant, which provides cash for immediate needs.
Flood damage victims who qualify can apply for the assistance programs by filling out an unmet needs assessment form at a local disaster assistance center, by calling 833-719-4981 or by going online to the Salvation Army website at sahelp.org.
Submitting a form does not guarantee immediate assistance. Those who apply will be asked to submit additional verification and supporting documents to receive financial help.
For more information, including instructions on how to receive assistance to replace food that was damaged by flooding and purchased using food benefits like EBT or WIC, visit https://tinyurl.com/3ecub6xw.
To support the expansion of financial aid, the state is expanding the hours of its Disaster Recovery Hotline, which will now be operating from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. It will not be operating on Monday Jan. 19 in observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The state is still working with the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to complete an assessment of regional flood damages. If the damages reach a certain threshold, the state could qualify for additional financial assistance funds from the federal government.
The $2.5 million in disaster relief funds and expansion to southern parts of the state is the latest update to the state's response to recent flooding in Western Washington. The state distributed an initial $1 million in cash assistance in the wake of disastrous flooding last month. According to a news release, that money went to more than 2,600 households in the span of five days. Both those sums — totaling $3.5 million — represent a chunk of state funding made available by Ferguson's disaster declaration, which was expanded last month, Dec. 16.
Additional recovery information is available at floodrecovery.wa.gov.
