Trump approves WA’s request for emergency declaration amid flooding
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson announced Friday morning that the federal government is granting the state’s request for emergency assistance following days of devastating flooding.
In a Dec. 12 news release, Ferguson said that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem called him on the phone. Noem explained that President Donald Trump had approved the state’s request for an emergency declaration. The state has “received written confirmation of that emergency declaration,” Ferguson said.
“I expressed my thanks to Secretary Noem on behalf of the people of the State of Washington during this extremely challenging time,” he said in the release.
On Dec. 10, Ferguson had asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 10 for an expedited emergency declaration. He still hadn’t received an answer by Thursday. That day, Washington’s bipartisan congressional delegation, led by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, wrote Trump to ask him to quickly approve that request for help.
After the November 2024 bomb cyclone storm that rocked Washington, the federal government rejected the state’s request for disaster relief. That weather event had reportedly caused tens of millions of dollars in damage to public property.
A summary of the Dec. 12 federal approval states that FEMA, under the Department of Homeland Security, is authorized to offer assistance for the emergency to help save lives and protect public health, safety and property. FEMA is able to provide help under the Public Assistance program at 75% federal funding, per the summary.
That help is for the following counties: Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Whatcom, and Yakima, the summary says. It also applies to the Samish Indian Nation, in addition to every Tribal Nation within those jurisdictions.
This story was originally published December 12, 2025 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Trump approves WA’s request for emergency declaration amid flooding."
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