2021 lessons help Whatcom Strong assist residents displaced by recent flooding
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2025 Whatcom County flooding
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In the wake of this week’s torrential rain and flooding in communities along the Nooksack River, efforts are already moving toward getting displaced residents back in their homes — a process that could take months or years.
Recovery is moving more quickly this time because of a nonprofit organization known as Whatcom Strong, which formed in early 2022 after a series of storms caused two rounds of flooding that devastated Whatcom County in November 2021.
Formally called the Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group, it helped funnel more than $20 million in private donations and grants from local, state and federal agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Damage in 2021 was estimated at more than $150 million, and hundreds of people were left homeless amid a housing shortage and global pandemic. Nearly 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and nearly 600 families displaced, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management.
It took weeks to organize Whatcom Strong after the last big flood, but this week’s damage assessment was already under way before the river started receding, Everson Mayor John Perry told The Bellingham Herald.
Whatcom Strong’s work after 2021 left a framework that jump-started the recovery process, Perry said.
“We weren’t caught by surprise. We’re doing better logistically but not emotionally. It’s hard to get back on your feet and know that some people will never be made whole. We’ll get through it, but it’s tougher this time. This is harder because we know how hard it is to recover,” he said in a phone call.
Officials with the Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group scheduled Friday and Saturday sessions for residents affected by the flood to request help. The first step is filling out an online form at the Whatcom Strong website. Two in-person sessions were scheduled:
- 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Friday at Valley Church, 904 Nooksack Road in Nooksack.
- 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Saturday at Sumas Advent Christian Church, 125 Front St., Sumas.
Heading Whatcom Strong is Kyle Christensen, who was mayor of Sumas in 2021 and joined Perry in spearheading rescue and recovery across their stricken communities, according to previous Herald reporting. Lately, Whatcom Strong has been focused on providing Community Development Block Grant funding to raise homes above the floodplain, Christensen told The Bellingham Herald in a phone call.
Whatcom Strong was intended to make assistance available for future floods and other disasters, including wildfires, Christensen told The Whatcom County Council in a July 26, 2022, presentation.
And it paid off. About 150 families had applied for aid by early afternoon Friday, he told The Herald.
“We’re definitely more prepared, based on everything we’ve done from the 2021 flood. We are in a lot better place, even though a lot of people just got devastated,” Christensen said. “We need to know who needs help and what they need. That’s our biggest thing, that’s our priority. People might be thinking, ‘I’ll probably be OK.’ But anyone who had damage, just get in touch with us.”
Bottled water, food and cleaning supplies are needed, but donations of money through the Whatcom Strong website will do the most good, Christensen said.
“Just reach out to us. A lot of families, they’re hurting, and they’re not even thinking straight,” he said.
Joining Christensen at the Whatcom Strong aid session Friday in Nooksack were the 42nd Legislative District’s two state representatives, Alicia Rule and Joe Timmons.
Rule, who grew up in the area and now lives in Blaine, was a key figure in securing state aid for Whatcom County flood recovery in the 2022 budget.
“This is like wounds on top of scars. My heart is broken in a million pieces for the people who have to deal with this,” she told The Herald in an interview.
This story was originally published December 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM.
