KING COUNTY, Wash. — King County Emergency Management continues to collect reports as initial damage estimates from November's powerful windstorm come in.
Damage estimates from county government departments, municipalities and other public organizations currently total more than $11 million.
People with a primary home or business that was impacted by stormy weather between Nov. 17-25 are being encouraged to report damage to Emergency Management by Dec. 31. So far, there have been nearly 250 people that have claimed major damages to homes or businesses, according to the county.
Damage from the storm system isn't limited to wind and can include damage from flooding and mudslides or landslides.
The assessments could help incoming Gov. Bob Ferguson in requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration, which would make federal assistance available. That assistance could come in the form of grants or loans. Property tax relief may also be available.
On the afternoon of Nov. 19, strong winds powered by a bomb cyclone began knocking down trees. By the morning of Nov. 20, hundreds of thousands were without power and two women were killed.
Western Washington residents had a day of relatively calm weather before a second storm hit the region that was still trying to recover.
Puget Sound Energy reported the storm systems were on par with two in the last 20 years. In January 2012, a storm caused an eight-day outage that impacted 476,000 people, and in December 2006, 700,000 people were out of power for multiple days.
Eastside communities were the hardest hit, with residents left in the dark for up to about a week.
