Seventh annual Flood Forum helps property owners prepare

Published 3:12 pm Thursday, October 29, 2015

Although a lot has changed in the national flood insurance program in the past year, the advice to homeowners and businesses in flood-prone areas have not.

“Make sure you’re on the flood warning system,” said Angela Donaldson.

A representative with the Hauglie Agency, Donaldson praised the King County flood warning system, which is free. Sign up at www.kingcounty.gov/flood.

There is much more to know about flood safety and insurance, though, so the Hauglie Agency hosts an annual Snoqualmie Valley Flood Forum.

This year’s event, the seventh annual, was held last week at Snoqualmie City Hall, drawing a large enough crowd to Snoqualmie’s City Council chambers that many people had to stand throughout the meeting.

The forum featured:

• King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert talking about the county’s flood control district and its mitigation projects;

• Ken Zweig, with the county’s Department of Natural Resources on the flood warning program and general preparedness;

• Kristin Minich, regional director of the National Flood Insurance Program, going over the program reforms most likely to affect local property owners — specifically the subsidy reductions scheduled to begin with renewals in 2016;

• Richelle Rose, with the county River and Floodplain Management group, who discussing the process for raising buildings and creating farm pads and answering questions about it; and

• Donaldson, with suggestions on ways to reduce flood insurance costs.

At the top of Donaldson’s list were elevation certificates. These documents, when done by a licensed surveyor, provide property owners, and the national flood insurance program, with a legal record of their buildings’ elevation, which will become important as flood insurance subsidies begin to disappear.

It also could result in flood insurance savings, Donaldson said, if the living spaces of a home are high enough above an average flood — generally four feet in Snoqualmie.

“I still recommend everyone gets an elevation certificate,” she said. “Having an elevation certificate on file will put a ceiling on the (flood insurance) rate, and there’s no negative consequence to it.”

Cost for the survey and certificate is typically between $500 and $1,000 per building, Donaldson said, and she has local recommendations.

At the forum, Donaldson said, she also learned some new things in the world of flooding, insurance and mitigation. Rose’s presentation, she said, was especially interesting.

For this area, “they’ve mitigated all the severe repetitive loss properties, except two,” Donaldson said. Mitigation generally means raising a building, which is expensive, and not all property owners can afford it. Grant funding gets used up quickly, too, so properties and priorities are re-assessed frequently.

“Properties do not fall off of the list. They stay on the list and every six months, they reassess how many they can get into the program,” Donaldson said.

Currently, no federal grants are available, “But we have local, state and county money we can apply for,” Donaldson added.

Rose advised property owners who wanted information about their status on potential mitigation work to call her office, the River and Floodplain Management section of the King County Water and Land Resources Division.

Checklists: What to do before, after a flood

Before a flood, there are steps you can take to ensure your safety and simplify insurance claims:

• Take photos of your home and business as it is now;

• Develop an evacuation plan with your family and employees;

• Have a list of important phone numbers and sandbag locations;

• Teach everyone how and when to shut off gas, electric and water;

• Review your flood insurance declaration page.

After a flood, you can find smoother sailing with the following steps:

• Make sure your home is safe before entering;

• Take photos of the damage, inside and out;

• File your flood claim. Ask if you can begin clean-up immediately;

•Separate undamaged items;

• Keep an inventory of all damaged items, age and value, regardless of their coverage;

• Keep samples of carpets and flooring removed from each room;

• Keep estimates from contractors to show to your adjustor and provide receipts from prior claims.

• Keep receipts for everything

• Sign the proof of loss within 60 days of the date of loss. Supplemental claims can address discrepancies

Local Floodplain Managers

North Bend – call (425) 888-7651.

• Don DeBerg, City Engineer,  ddeberg@northbendwa.gov

• Mark Rigos, Public Works, mrigos@northbendwa.gov

Snoqualmie – call (425) 888-5337.

• Gwyn Berry, Planning, gberry@ci.snoqualmie.wa.us

•  Mark Hofman, Community Development Director, mhofman@ci.snoqualmie.wa.us

Carnation – call (425) 333-4192, Tim Woolett, Planner, timw@carnationwa.gov

Duvall – call (425) 788-2779, Lara Thomas, Planning Director, lara.thomas@duvallwa.gov

King County  – call (206) 477-4732, Ken Zweig, DNRP, Project/Program Manager III, en.zweig@kingcounty.gov

Home Elevation Grant Resources

Snoqualmie – contact Gwyn Berry, Planning Technician, gberry@ci.snoqualmie.wa.us

King County – contact Richelle Rose, Floodplain Manager, Grant Coordinator, Richelle.rose@kingcounty.gov

Flood Preparation Resources

Official website of the National Flood Insurance Program: www.floodsmart.com

King County Flood Warning System:  www.kingcounty.gov/flood

Ready.gov’s flood information page:  ww.ready.gov/floods

USGS Flood Information pages: http://water.usgs.gov/floods/resources/