By Brian Mittge, The Chronicle, 11/19/2001
The next time floodwaters rise in Centralia, 127 families will stay high and dry.
At least in part, they'll have Roy Browning to thank.
As city coordinator for federal grants that pay for home elevation projects, Browning is Centralia's point man on reducing damage from catastrophic flood events.
About 600 Centralia homes claimed damage in the February 1996 flood that deluged the area and closed the freeway, he said.
Shortly after that flood, the federal and state governments gave Centralia grants to pay for 87 1/2 per- cent of the cost of lifting homes a foot above the high water mark. Home owners pay the remaining 12 1/2 percent.
The government will pay for most of the work up to $40,000 to raise each home, he said. Any cost beyond that is up to the homeowner.
Each home is elevated to one foot above the 100- year flood plain or the lev- el of the 1996 flood, whichever is higher.
So far every house received more water in 1996 than is set by the 100 year flood plain maps, which were set in 1982.
"On paper the city has had $4.1 million" in state and federal aid to raise homes, he said.
He recently completed applications for hundreds of thousands more dollars, but that money, should it be received, will go to families who applied years ago. People interested in the program shouldn't expect their homes to be elevated any time soon.
Home elevation applications were solicited and collected shortly after the 1996 flood, he said.
"Even if they apply right now and I get the money next May, they won't get it," he said. "They were sleeping at the switch."
THOSE INTERESTED in elevating their homes can contact Browning for an application and home elevation survey form.
"In order to apply, they need to have had water inside the main floor of their home at least once, preferably twice," he said.
The point of home elevation is to save the government money over the long term, he explained. If paying $40,000 to elevate a home will prevent $50,000 worth of damage, it pencils out.
"For every one dollar I spend to elevate a home we need to show a dollar of loss. It's
He encourages those who are concerned about
Local residents receive a lower premium on their flood insurance because of the city's efforts toward community awareness and its support of such projects as the home elevation project.
"The feds would like it if we would limit building in the flood plain," he said.
So far the city hasn't done that, although city officials do recommend that all new buildings be raised one foot above the 1996 level.
LAST WEEK'S FLOODING of some Centralia roads showed how quickly a heavy rain can raise the waters, even after a drought, he noted.
Tuesday's rainfall measured 1.5 inches, and Wednesday showed 4.8 inches. That 3.3-inch rainfall in 24 hours is significant, and would have been more so if it had continued for another day and if the area wasn't still relatively parched, he said.
"As it was the rivers were low, the ground was not saturated and the Skookumchuck Dam reported to me they were 12 feet below overflow," he said. "We get that benefit once a year." In the event of a major flood, an extra room in the police station becomes the nerve center for the city's response.
"Twelve phone lines drop down," with each line dedicated to calls about a single issue, such as sandbags or other specific needs, he said.
His job is to analyze river readings, an important task as the city tries to evaluate what's to come, where the waters will rise, and when.
Years of study have shown how high flow rates on the upper Skookumchuck, Chehalis and Newaukum rivers will affect Centralia, and when exactly each glut of water will hit.
China Creek, for example, crests nearly a half day before the Chehalis River.
Waters in that creek can be going down, and homeowners might start to relax, when the nearby Chehalis River will begin its local flooding, which can be much worse, Browning said.
When flooding does occur, he encourages people to avoid driving through water, especially for pleasure.
"We get four-by-fourers wanting to go out lookey-looing. Water's right to somebody's door, but not going in, then the four-by-four with big waders goes by, makes a wake," he said.
"That's why we encourage elevation," he said. "It gets just as wet." Police can cite those drivers who cause damage or who are driving in water, he noted.
A LIFELONG RESIDENT of the area, he studied for two years at Centralia College and did two years of active military duty in Hawaii with the Reserves.
He shares the same last name as the city mayor, Tim Browning. They are second cousins, he said.
Roy Browning started working with the city in 1969, when the Gold Street viaduct and several other major road projects were in the works.
He now spends most of his time coordinating the home elevation projects and otherwise trying to reduce flood damage through education and planning.
When the topic turns to high water, he has two favorite words, which he repeats often: flood insurance.
The 1996 floods, which rushed through Fords Prairie in a route never seen in modem times, caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage in homes that were in the cheapest flood insurance category, he said.
"Some people say, disaster assistance will help me," he said. "They might get $1,500 if they're lucky. It's not uncommon to have $40,000 worth of damage to a home." Flood insurance doesn't need to be paid back, as with some disaster aid, he noted, and it can cover both structural damage and possessions.
Brian Mittge covers local government for The Chronicle. He may be reached by e-mail at bmittge@chronline.com, or by telephoning 807-8237.
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