The damage total for the Election Day flood continues to rise, now pushing an estimated $20 million in Snohomish County.
The estimate increased after county officials late Thursday calculated the numbers for damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
The total is expected to continue to rise as more damage reports are tallied.
The flood damaged more than 550 houses and completely destroyed 27, according to the Red Cross.
Damage to houses and businesses was estimated at $8.8 million earlier this week by the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management.
State officials Wednesday expect to present Gov. Chris Gregoire with a proposal to ask for federal emergency relief.
If Gregoire agrees, she can ask President Bush to make a federal disaster declaration in Washington state. That would make grants and loan money available to flood victims.
“The maximum an individual is going to get is $28,200,” said Rob Harper, a spokesman for the Washington Emergency Management Division.
Most get far less, he said – $6,000 is the average allocation in Washington state.
Public agencies are tallying their damage and are expected to ask for federal help as well.
State disaster officials will review those requests later in the month, Harper said. A separate request would have to be made by the governor to the president.
Snohomish County will be there with its $11 million damage estimate when the time comes to look at public agencies, said Bobann Fogard, the county’s transportation and environmental services division director.
“Without help from the federal government, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for the county to absorb these repairs,” Fogard said.
The county’s water systems and parks suffered some damage, but much of the repair bill is for county road damage, she said.
Most of that occurred on the Index-Galena Road, a remote road that extends into the forest above the town of Index. It will cost $7 million and take years to fix that road, Fogard said.
Two half-mile sections of the road were obliterated by the flood, said Roy Scalf, operations manager for the county’s road maintenance division. He said a number of winter cabins and a few year-round homes can be reached only by foot.
The number of houses damaged by the flood might continue to grow, Harper said.
Assessment crews were working in the Arlington and Granite Falls areas Friday, work that will continue today.
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