WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — While the waters have receded and more than three months have passed since the November floods, the people of northern Whatcom County are still very much under water.
"They're crying. They're frustrated and they're angry," said Whatcom County Recovery Manager Kyle Christensen. "As much as we're trying to help people, there is always more to do."
Nearly 2,000 buildings in the flood zone were damaged when the Nooksack River spilled over its banks and into homes and businesses.
Many people moved in with friends and family, but more than 100 are still living in motels or rentals.
Emergency officials believe some of those folks won't be able to return to their homes until the end of the year, but the state emergency funds paying for that housing runs out April 30 -- leaving all those people wondering what comes next.
"A lot of people just don't feel safe right now," said Christensen. "People don’t have the confidence to move back into their homes, especially for the rest of this month because we're still in flood season."
Flood victims are facing a perfect storm of a wet winter, a lack of workers and materials due to the ongoing pandemic, and, now, price gouging.
Officials say certain contractors have been charging double the normal cost for flood repair. Others have been taking people's money and not doing the work at all.
"It's kind of sad those kinds of people come out of the woodwork to try to take advantage of people in their time of need and weakness," said Christensen.
Christensen was mayor of the City of Sumas when they suffered heavy damage from a round of flooding. The community suffered a second flood just a week after the first. Then snow came.
Countywide, damages are estimated at more than $100 million.
During the early days of the disaster, just before Thanksgiving, donations of food and money poured in to the community.
With funding for housing about to dry up, neighbors will likely be asked to help, once again, through the Whatcom Strong relief site.
"We will explore whatever opportunities are out there to extend those funds, but we're gonna probably need the community's help, again," said Christensen.
For now, the struggle continues.
"You come to realize that we just have to take one day at a time and help out as much as we can," said Christensen.