Whatcom County flood losses could reach $50 million from last week’s atmospheric river

Damages from flooding in Whatcom County could reach as high as $50 million, Whatcom County officials said at an online briefing Tuesday, Nov. 23., at the Whatcom Unified Emergency Operations Center. John Gargett, deputy director of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management, said he wouldn’t be surprised if public and private damages and economic losses reach that mark. Included among that $50 million, Gargett said, were estimates of $15 to $20 million in damage to houses in the area, “tens of millions of dollars” in damage to public infrastructure and another $15 to $20 million in damage to area business centers.