On a farm just outside Fall City, Ryan Lichttenegger gazed out at the rushing water blanketing his fields.
His community is used to floods, Lichttenegger said Tuesday, but this one feels different. Water from the nearby Snoqualmie River moved quickly, pushing past any barriers and submerging some properties — including the barn where his produce and coolers are kept.
“I’ve seen many floods come and go, and I've never seen water come in and out of this barn like it has,” said Lichttenegger, owner of Steel Wheel Farm. “It’s really devastating to have a flooding event like this happen before Christmas time. We have lost quite a bit.”
So far, farm houses and barns are taking the worst hit of this week’s sweeping flooding event. But experts fear more property damage in the coming days as the downpour intensifies.
Homes near the Snoqualmie, Tolt, Cedar, Green and White rivers are in the most danger of flooding, said Harrison Rademacher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Seattle office.
“This is kind of a once in an every few year system we see in Washington. I believe 2022 was the last time we saw this kind of impact, flooding buildings,” Rademacher said.
Even one inch of water in a home can cause thousands of dollars in damage, which has owners of riverside vacation homes worried. Many didn’t have time to prepare their properties for flooding, with closed off roads and dangerously high water blocking their routes in some areas.
Seattle resident Marian Wachter said she can’t reach her second home near the Middle Fork of the Teanaway River due to the flooding. She’s experiencing the flooding secondhand through her neighbor’s videos.
“The water was up to my neighbor’s knee when he was standing in it,” she said.
Like many of the homes in her neighborhood, Wachter’s house is raised to prevent flooding. But she’s still wary about what the next few days will bring.
“If we get more rain, it could be a problem. We’re worried about it,” she said.
What if my home floods?
A flooded home is a scary and confusing experience. Dealing with insurance companies after can make it even worse.
Water damage from flooding isn’t covered on a standard homeowners insurance policy or renters insurance policy. Flood coverage is usually a separate policy for both types of residents, which can leave many with expensive out-of-pocket costs.
Only around 36,000 people in Washington have flood insurance policies, according to the state office of the insurance commissioner, although more than 2 million people in Washington live in areas susceptible to flooding.
If someone doesn’t have flood insurance, they may qualify for some federal emergency grants or loans after the flooding, said Aaron VanTuyl, spokesperson for the insurance commissioner's office.
For those who do have flood insurance, he recommends taking photos or video to document the damage, making a list of lost or damaged items and contacting an insurance agent to notify them of the damage.
Talk to an insurer before making permanent repairs or disposing of damaged property, he said, and save receipts from any mitigation efforts, temporary repairs or temporary lodging for possible reimbursement.
How to prepare your property
Emergency management officials say it’s not too late to prepare homes for flooding, which is set to worsen Wednesday and Thursday.
Here are a few actions someone worried about their home flooding can take now, without professional help:
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