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Hundreds of people in Washington state are rebuilding their homes after historic river flooding in December. Many are questioning if they should rebuild in areas where flooding is projected to get worse with climate change. Casey Martin from member station KUOW reports.
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CASEY MARTIN, BYLINE: Power tools and big trucks shake the few buildings in Hamilton, Washington. It's in the woods of the Cascade Mountains, and it's a small town, home to about 300 people. A man named Frank Boots runs a small excavator, digging post holes. The muddy field he's digging in used to be a large wooden stage in the center of town until it washed away in the December storms.
FRANK BOOTS: It was kind of heartbreaking. It's weird not seeing it there 'cause summertime we have, like, bluegrass plays on there, different rock bands. Just to know it's not going to happen this year, it kind of - it sucks.
MARTIN: Boots and his wife own Boots Bar and Grill, a few blocks from the Skagit River. The Skagit is one of over a dozen rivers in the state that flooded in December after intense rainfall. Water filled farms and ran through small towns up and down western Washington. The state says almost 3,900 homes were damaged, with over 400 of those majorly damaged or destroyed. At Boots Bar in Hamilton, the water was four feet high inside the building.
BOOTS: But the flood, it gets inside the walls. All the insulation, everything, it's got to be all torn out and replaced.
MARTIN: These smaller towns higher in the mountains tend to get a little flooding every few years. Boots and his wife have been here for over a decade.
BOOTS: I knew this was a flood town. There's always a chance. Not as bad as this.
MARTIN: They fell in love with the area. In the summertime, it's a popular spot for backpackers and climbers.
BOOTS: Imagine all of these trees with leaves and flowers, you know, the mountains and the wildlife up here. It is just the prettiest place in the world.
MARTIN: Boots and his wife aren't sure they want to stay, though. Climate change is expected to fuel more damaging floods like this in the future. Guillaume Mauger, Washington state climatologist, says a warmer climate means in the winter, Washington gets less snow and more rain, which can flood rivers.
GUILLAUME MAUGER: We're going to get bigger floods, and they're going to happen more often. What we used to call the hundred-year event is going to be more like a 20 to 25-year event.
MARTIN: The state is asking FEMA for $21.3 million to help people rebuild. The cost to repair public bridges and roads is still being talied. Julie de Losada is director of Skagit County's Office of Emergency Management, one of the hardest hit areas in the state.
JULIE DE LOSADA: Recovery can take decades, honestly. Businesses who can't recover or homes that can't be re-occupied.
MARTIN: Given concerns about increasing flood risk, some people have called for long-term flood protection, like seawalls and barriers. The town of Mount Vernon is one of the few in the state with a flood wall. Here's Washington Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell at that wall in December after it held back the floodwaters from Mount Vernon.
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MARIA CANTWELL: Look at what the mayor was able to do here to build this seawall that protects this community. So I am sure there are other parts of our state that need a similar infrastructure.
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MARTIN: For now, bar owner Frank Boots is planning to rebuild. He's thinking about constructing a stage high enough to clear the floodwater next time.
BOOTS: We'll get bigger. So my next plan is to buy them next two lots, and I'm going to build a better stage out there.
MARTIN: And he'll likely change the motto out front that says a flood of a good time.
For NPR News, I'm Casey Martin in Hamilton.
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