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The governor saw first-hand look at the damage caused by this week's flood as he toured homes in Montesano, the Wynoochee Valley and Satsop Saturday.
THE Diericks raised their home on Wynoochee Tracts Road 18 inches last summer as a precautionary measure from flooding.
But even that wasn't enough to prevent the devastation brought about by the record-breaking amounts of rainfall in the area last week.
The Diericks are just one of a half dozen families Gov. Gary Locke met on Saturday during his two-and-a-half hour survey of the damage that hit Grays Harbor County.
"It's so devastating," the governor told The Daily World after witnessing some of the flood-damaged areas such as the Wynoochee Valley, which experienced the worst flooding in a hundred years. "It's heartbreaking to see people that have lost their lifelong possessions. You can hear the despair in their voices and see it in their eyes."
So far, about $1.2 million in damages to private property was reported in the county. "It was a total shock," Mary Dierick said about the flood that took place while her husband, Bryan, was away on a business trip.
In a flash, what they had accomplished in terms of renovating their home over the past three years was replaced by mud, gravel and debris.
When her relatives arrived by boat to rescue them last Tuesday evening, Mary and her two children had to bring what they could some clothes and their lives. it was too late to salvage the rest of their belongings.
They are not alone. 'Families throughout Gray 'Harbor County can share similar stories of devastation. About 300 people were still out of the homes as of Saturday, estimated Darlena Wilson, deputy rector of the county Department of Emergency Management.
According to Wilson, three people were hospitalized in incidents related to the flooding. 0 the three, two were treated for hypothermia and the third suffered a heart attack while cleaning up after the flood, she said.
The governor along with Senator Sid Snyder, D-Long Beach, Re Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, an County Commissioner Bob Bee bower of Elma witnessed the devastation on the Wynoochee Tracts Road, at the Mary' River Lumber mill, Mont Elma Road toward the Satsop River Bridge and the Willis Farm in Montesano.
Officials are urging everyone regardless of whether they have flood insurance, is urged to report their damages to their local department of Emergency Management Services. In Gray Harbor County, call 249-391 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday or 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. during week. In Pacific County, call 875-9340.
"Unless enough people report nobody will be eligible for federal assistance," Locke said. "We want people to report as soon a possible and start getting relief as soon as possible,"
The National Weather Service on Saturday lifted a flood warning for the Chehalis River. The river is now on flood watch ,status.
THE big question everyone is asking is why was this so devastating in the Wynoochee Valley?
According to Eric Winters, Corp. of Engineers assistant flood engineer on the Chehalis River, a weather system drove up the valley near the Wynoochee and Satsop rivers. The rain clouds could not get past the mountains, which results in a large amount of rain and eventually flash flooding. "It's like a pillow hitting against a wall," Winters said.
About 11.6 inches of rain was reported at the Wynoochee Dam within 24 hours of March 18 and 9.61 inches was reported at the county emergency management office in Montesano in that same period. One report had 20 inches of rainfall at the dam in a 36-hour period.
Winters and others said that they have never seen the situation in the area so bad.
"This is very unusual," Winters said. "This area has never been hit like this."
The flooding may be over, but local officials and volunteers are helping in cleanup and focusing their attention on assessing damages.
The number of houses damaged by flooding and mudslides from as many as four days of frequently heavy rain rose to nearly 500 and the number destroyed to nearly 30, according to emergency management figures.
The hardest hit areas in the county are the Wynoochee Valley, Satsop River Valley, Brady Loop Road area, Humptulips River Valley and Johns River.
The preliminary losses reported to the county in the public and private sector total about $2.5 million. Individually, the reported damages are: $500,000 from the county Public Utilities Department, $7,000 from the U.S. Forest Service, $700,000 from the county, $100,000 from the Department of Transportation and $1.2 million in the private sector.
When asked about how much she thought the damage would amount to her home on MonteElma Road, Beverly Hert responded, "I don't want to know."
They lost everything, she said as relatives piled up damaged items such an antique radio and a mattress on the front yard. Even though the pile was high enough for a long-lasting bonfire, Hert joked that she probably would have burned the items if they weren't watersoaked.
THE family's loss included an extensive antique collection, 14 chickens and 30 of her 36 pet birds, including parakeets, lovebirds, doves, cockatoos' and cockatiels. Fortunately, her cuckoo clock collection was spared by the floodwaters that rose up to her kitchen counters.
The swirling, muddy water rose almost five feet in the newly remodeled living room of the Sipe family, ruining furnishings that included a large white couch and an antique baby grand piano.
"It seems like a nightmare and that it's never going to end," Cheryl Sipe said after meeting with the governor. The force of the floodwaters was so strong behind the home on Wynoochee Tracts Road that the deck in their backyard, floated over their pool and into the front yard.
Gary Smith, a manager at Mary's River Lumber in Montesano, said the loo mill workers would lose a much-needed week of pay because of the flooding. Floodwaters from the Chehalis carried away many logs from the mill.
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