Sumas sounds flood siren, while Ferndale prepares for Nooksack River’s crest Monday
Floodwaters from the rain-swollen Nooksack River continued to work north Monday morning, but Whatcom County officials are reporting some promising signs from the second flood event in two weeks.
“We just used the flood siren,” Sumas Mayor Kyle Christensen wrote on the city’s Facebook page at 9:05 a.m. Monday, Nov. 29.“
“The water has bypassed the Cherry street bridge in Sumas. So it will start to spread out and go through town. We are still encouraged because the flow continues to slow down. We recommend everyone shelter in place until we see how this flood unfolds,” Christensen said.
“Please do not panic, make any necessary preparations now. Life safety will continue to be our number one priority through this flood event,” he said.
Downstream in Ferndale, city officials were watching the Nooksack River rise toward a predicted crest of 21 feet between 10 a.m. and noon Monday.
“We have people standing by the river, observing,” Mayor Greg Hansen told The Bellingham Herald.
Several homes in low-lying areas near the river have seen flooding, but the swollen river remains below its levee, he said.
“It definitely has filled the floodways,” Hansen said.
Hovander Homestead and VanderYacht parks were closed by floodwaters from back-to-back “atmospheric river” storms that brought record rain to Whatcom County — on top of similar storms that inundated the region just two weeks ago, forcing hundreds of residents from their homes.
Hansen said the city’s Emergency Operations Center would remain open through the end of the week, because another major storm is in the forecast for Tuesday, Nov. 30.
“We know we have significant rain coming and we are anticipating another river crest. We’re going to continue to stay in a heightened alert status,” he said.
As of 5:15 a.m. Monday, Nov. 29, the city of Sumas reported in a Facebook post that floodwaters had not gone over Halverstick Road.
“That will be the next place it goes over,” the post read. “After that, we will watch for the water to start going around the bridge on Cherry Street. When that happens, we will use the flood siren once again. At that time, we will recommend everyone shelter in place.”
Most of the roads into an out of Sumas have already been closed, the city reported.
As of 10 p.m. Sunday evening, Everson Mayor John Perry posted on Facebook that water levels on East Main Street in Everson were “slowly receding” and that Nooksack River levels at Cedarville had dropped six inches from what they were less than three hours earlier.
“It appears that we are through the worst of it for the Everson/Nooksack area,” Perry wrote. “We could still see a few isolated areas where the level raises slightly, but for the most part it looks like we are improving.”
Perry also reported that there had been no calls for water rescues as of 10 p.m. Sunday.
As a result of the storm and floodwaters, the Ferndale School District canceled classes for Monday. Other districts reported they are operating on delayed schedules, including, Blaine (two hours), Lynden (one hour) and Meridian (two hours).
Whatcom deploys resources
Floodwaters from the Nooksack River began flowing into Everson Sunday afternoon, after more than 24 hours of rain from the latest November “atomospheric river” to pass through Whatcom County, according to a release from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
Whatcom County Public Works is monitoring the floodwater as it moves towards Sumas, according to the release.
Shortly after 3 p.m., the City of Sumas announced in a Facebook post that it had sounded the flood alert after floodwaters had passed Main Street in Everson.
“We just sounded the flood siren in Sumas because the Nooksack River has come over the bank in Everson and is going across Main Street,” the post made at 3:17 p.m. read. “As a reminder, there might only be a short amount of time before the roads going in and out of Sumas could be closed due to high water. After that point, it will be safer to shelter in place. Please make any necessary preparations now.”
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for Everson and Sumas at 3:06 p.m. due to the Nooksack overflow.
“The water level will stay lower than the flood two weeks ago, but it is still flooded from last time,” the National Weather Service said in a tweet.
The National Weather Service also tweeted that the atmospheric river began to “give out” Sunday afternoon, turning to scattered showers.
An emergency alert advising Sumas and Everson residents to voluntarily evacuate Saturday night, Nov. 27, was sent out shortly before 6 p.m. as rain continued to fall in Whatcom County.
“Life safety is our primary concern. Road closures begin as early as 4 a.m. Sunday,” the flooding alert read.
The recommended evacuation area was for Everson and Nooksack residents impacted by the “Super Bowl” flood of 2020 and anyone in Sumas, according to Sunday’s release. It remained in effect as of Sunday evening.
Region saturated
After two major storms in two weeks, soil in the area is saturated, creating new hazards.
The City of Bellingham reported in a release late Sunday that water was over roadways, including Iowa Street at Interstate 5 and Squalicum Parkway.
A section of northbound Interstate 5 south of Bellingham also was down to one late much of Sunday and overnight due to a small landslide, the Washington State Patrol reported via Twitter.
The city urged residents to avoid floodwater and obey street closure signs.
“In addition to flooding hazards, the threat of landslides and falling trees is greatly elevated due to rain-saturated soils,” the city wrote.
Bellingham officials also reported that the Post Point wastewater treatment plant and major pump stations were running at full capacity throughout the day Sunday.
Rainwater exceeded pumping capacity at times, resulting in the automatic overflow at C Street for approximately 7½ hours, the city reported. That resulted in 9 million gallons of sewage water being discharged into Bellingham Bay along with 133 million gallons of water discharged from Whatcom Creek.
“The impacts to water quality as the result of the need for sewage overflow are expected to be minimal,” the city release stated.
Flood preparations
Members of the National Guard have been stationed in Everson and Sumas, according to Sunday’s release, and they have been working to fill and deliver sandbags and provide community assistance where needed.
The sheriff’s office’s search and rescue personnel have also been pre-staged in the event they are needed to make water rescues, according to the release.
“River flood models continue to fluctuate,” the release states. “Current predictions show the river cresting at Cedarville around 10 p.m. tonight (Sunday), and cresting at Ferndale around 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 29. There is much uncertainty with how changes to the river channel, damages to the levee system and depleted floodplain storage may impact the flooding that results from this storm.“
Shelters are available for those displaced by the flooding, according to the release, with a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week shelter at the Mount Baker Rotary building (1775 Front Street, Lynden) and one open from 5 p.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 29, at Christ Lutheran Church (5904 Vista Dr., Ferndale).
But even those who have not been displaced by floodwaters should be aware of the dangers posed by the latest storm, according to the release.
“In addition to river flooding, the county is experiencing significant standing water and ponding issues that are affecting roadways, and in some cases, homes and other buildings,” the release states. “The soil is saturated. Water retention ponds, culverts, and ditches are full or overflowing. These conditions also increase the likelihood of landslides.”
The City of Bellingham reported that it measured two inches of rainfall between midnight and 7 a.m. Sunday at the Post Point treatment facility with more anticipated.
Before midnight Sunday, the National Weather Service reported Bellingham has seen 11.64 inches of rain so far in November — an all-time record for the month.
Previous flooding
The areas that flooded were inundated as the Nooksack River surged over its banks on Nov. 14.
Damages from that flooding could reach as high as $50 million, Whatcom County officials said at an online briefing Nov. 23.
John Gargett, deputy director of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management, said he wouldn’t be surprised if public and private damages and economic losses reach that mark.
Included among that $50 million, Gargett said, were estimates of $15 to $20 million in damage to houses in the area, “tens of millions of dollars” in damage to public infrastructure and another $15 to $20 million in damage to area business centers.
This story was originally published November 28, 2021 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Sumas sounds flood siren, while Ferndale prepares for Nooksack River’s crest Monday."
