North Sound community braces for more flooding

A second round of rains this weekend has led to a second round of flooding in some of Whatcom County’s hardest hit towns.

WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. - A second round of rains this weekend has led to a second round of flooding in some of Whatcom County’s hardest-hit towns.

On Sunday night water was rising, once again, in both Everson and Sumas.

The flooding has exhausted those who live in low-lying areas, some of which haven’t had a chance to leave shelters since the first round of flooding.

"It’s hard, man," said an exhausted Larry Talman as he tried to hold back tears. "It’s really hard."

Talman lives in Marietta with his dog – both have been in a shelter in Lynden since last week. It’s their second shelter in as many weeks. Talman, 63, has two parents that live in the area – which has made it hard to move on from the area despite being flooded out of a trailer on the same property two years ago.

"I cried the first two days," he said. "I can’t cry no more. I have been through Hell so many times. I lost so much stuff. I lost a lot of antiques, a lot of personal stuff that you can’t replace. It really sucks."

Get breaking news alerts in the FREE FOX 13 Seattle app. Download for Apple iOS or Android.

Donda King, a shelter manager with the Red Cross, told FOX 13 that 29 people were in the shelter as of late Sunday afternoon. She expects more to arrive as the floodwaters continue to rise.

"I have to expect more people so we can prepare for it," said King. "I pray that they’re not being forced out of their homes, but we want to make sure they have a place to come if that happens."

Many of the people in the Red Cross shelter in Lynden are from Everson and Sumas. They aren’t the only shelter helping out residents who were run out of their homes by floodwaters from the Nooksack River. A second shelter opened in Ferndale on Sunday, while a third was already operating in Sumas – King said National Guard troops stopped in Sunday afternoon to pick up meals that were being delivered to some of those families.

"Our clients have been through a lot," said King. "They’ve gone through so much, I mean – I feel for these people."

While it’s no solace to those who’ve lost everything, Red Cross assessors were already on the ground due to the flooding two weeks ago. The flooding – as of Sunday night – was predicted to rise at a level lower than two weeks ago, however much of the floodplain’s water storage capability was already depleted from the latest flooding.

National Guard members have spent the weekend in both Everson and Sumas to help fill/deliver sandbags, and local law enforcement have been on standby for potential water rescues.

For those who’ve already lost so much, the frustration is clear. Talman told FOX 13 that he wishes no one had ever allowed people to build in the area.

"Why put the roads there? The wires? Why not just a sign that reads, ‘flood zone.’ Then nobody would be getting hurt, right now. That would have been awesome.

Why put the roads there.. the wires – why not just a sign that says flood zone. Then nobody would get hurt. That’d be awesome! We always come back. We always rebuild – I’m only 63. If I have to keep rebuilding I’ll go crazy."

The last update from the Whatcom County Public Works River and Flood division indicated that the Nooksack River will crest around 10 p.m. on Sunday near Cedarville, while it will crest closer to 10 a.m. the following morning in Ferndale.

MORE FROM FOX 13 WEATHER:
DOWNLOAD: FOX 13 Weather and News Apps
WATCH: Forecast and Radar
READ: Closures and Delays
CHECK: Latest Weather Alerts and Live Traffic Map
INTERACT: Submit your Weather Photo
DAILY BRIEF: Sign Up For Our Newsletter
FOLLOW: Lisa Villegas, Erin Mayovsky, Brian MacMillan and Scott Sistek