Emergency & Disaster Resources

For transportation to our shelter and warm up center please call (360) 599-2823 and speak with the Fire Department.
EWRRC Website (Opportunity Council): https://www.oppco.org/ewrrc/
EWRRC Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/EWRRC
8251 Kendall Road, Maple Falls, WA – (360) 599-3944
The East Whatcom Regional Resource Center (EWRRC) is open to everyone. Feel free to stop by and get support if you need it. In extreme cold weather, if you are safer to stay home please do stay home!
Open Monday, Wednesday & Friday 9:00 am-12:00 pm & 1:00-4:00 pm
Open Thursdays 12:00-7:00 pm
Google Map: click here.

The Opportunity Council is a private, non-profit Community Action Agency serving homeless and low-income families and individuals. Our mission is to help people improve their lives through education, support, and direct assistance while advocating for just and equitable communities.
For over 50 years we have offered a broad scope of services that range from addressing immediate and crisis-oriented needs (food, emergency shelter, eviction-prevention) to longer-term programs that promote self-sufficiency in our community (early childhood education, home weatherization).

https://dor.wa.gov/get-form-or-publication/publications-subject/tax-topics/disaster-relief-taxpayers

DOR will work with businesses that cannot file or pay their taxes on time due to a natural disaster.

• Filing extension for excise tax returns
• Late payment penalty waiver request

Businesses can request an extension or penalty waiver by sending a secure email in their My DOR account or by calling Revenue’s customer service staff at 360-705-6705, Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Businesses in the impacted areas can also request:

• An application for credit for damaged timber for forest taxes.
• Rescheduling of a planned audit (contact the auditor).
• More time to file a business license or registration renewal (Call Business Licensing Service at 360-705-6741 or by email at BLS@dor.wa.gov).
• An extension of its expiring resellers permit (Call 360-705-6217 or by email at Reseller@dor.wa.gov).

https://public.alertsense.com/SignUp/

Sign up to receive public safety alerts and severe weather warnings that could directly impact you and your family.

These alerts are provided free of charge, however standard text messaging rates and other charges may apply. Optionally, feel free to download the AlertSense myAlerts App for Apple and Android devices. Another easy way to subscribe is by sending your zip code to 38276.

Website: https://www.washingtonconnection.org/home/

Washington Connection offers a fast and easy way for families and individuals to apply for a variety of services such as Food, Cash, Child Care, Long-Term Care, and Medicare Savings Programs. Individuals that are age 65 or older, blind or disabled may also apply for medical assistance.
Benefits and Programs you can apply for: https://www.washingtonconnection.org/home/availablebenefits.go

Traffic Map of Washington State with Real-Time incident and closure alerts: https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/map/

Emergency Severe Winter Shelter for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness 

Click to find out what severe winter shelters and centers are open. For more information about each location, go to our Severe Winter Shelter and Warming Center Locations section of this page. You can call 360-788-7983 for severe weather shelter availability. 

Whatcom County Road Closures & Restrictions: https://www.whatcomcounty.us/952/Road-Closures-Restrictions

Whatcom County Public Works: https://www.whatcomcounty.us/308/Public-Works

Whatcom County Public Works Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WhatcomCountyPublicWorks/

Public Works Department

Public Works Administration
322 N Commercial Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Phone: 360-778-6200
Fax: 360-778-6201

Please call or text “help” to (360) 612-5075 for current shelter status and location.

The emergency shelter is open in the winter and during severe weather events to provide individuals and families in need with a safe place to sleep, warm food, and referrals to community resources whenever possible.

Locations:

• Primary – United Church of Ferndale (2034 Washington St)
• Secondary – Christ Lutheran Church (5094 Vista Dr)
• Capacity: 12 individuals per night (men, women, and families)

Conditions for activation:
A temperature threshold of 28°F or below is forecasted as the overnight low and/or; A temperature threshold of 32°F or below is forecasted as the overnight low AND 1” or more of precipitation has accumulated and/or is projected overnight, and/or; A temperature threshold of 32°F or below is forecasted as the overnight low AND a high wind warning has been issued. At the discretion of the Program Coordinator, with agreement from the host agency, the shelter may be opened when none of the conditions of activation have been met, if other extenuating severe weather conditions exist (example: the overnight low is only projected to reach 40°F but moderate to major flooding is expected).

FCSC Website: https://ferndalecsc.org/
FCSC Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Ferndale-Community-Resource-Center-143316425749446/
FCSC Resource Center: PO Box 2205
5694 Second Ave. Ferndale, WA 98248
(360) 380-2200
email coordinator@ferndalecsc.org

Announcing the Ferndale Severe Weather Shelter Pilot Program – Volunteers Needed Now!
We are excited to announce the Ferndale Severe Weather Shelter! Our temporary shelter will provide a safe, warm place to sleep for individuals and families in the Ferndale area who have nowhere else to stay when severe weather conditions exist. But we won’t be able to open our doors this winter without volunteers so we need your help!

To find out more about volunteering and apply online please visit this LINK.

Real-Time Power Outage Map: https://www.pse.com/outage/outage-map

Report an Outage: https://www.pse.com/outage

Safety first. Never touch or go within 35 feet of downed power lines because they might be energized. Call PSE at 1-888-225-5773 or 911 to report problems.

• myPSE mobile app: pse.com/app
• For general outage information, see: pse.com/advisories 
• For outage preparedness tips, see: pse.com/storm

https://firesmoke.ca/

This interactive map gives views of current fires in the US and Canada, shows the location and direction of the smoke from those fires, and provides a 48hour visual forecast.

https://nwcleanairwa.gov/air-quality-center/

Get updates and information about the air quality in northwest Washington. Our agency operates real-time ambient air quality monitors in seven locations in our jurisdiction. Most of these air quality monitors keep track of air pollution in populated areas. Others – like the monitor near Lynden – measure regional background air quality.

Blaine CAP Website: https://blainecap.org/
Friends of CAP Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/capmatt25
The CAP Center, 508 G Street, Blaine, WA 98230
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1067, Blaine, WA 98231
Email: info@blainecap.org
Phone: (360) 392-8484

https://nami.org/Home

NAMI Washington
1107 NE 45th St Ste 330
Seattle, WA 98105-4697

800-950-6264

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

800-584-3578

To access this service, call the VOA Crisis Response Services (the Care Crisis Line) at 1-800-584-3578 24/7 – 365 days-a-year to speak with a mental health professional who will assess the situation, make appropriate referrals, and/or dispatch the MCOT community based outreach team.

The Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT) is a community-based outreach team with the ability to respond to and provide crisis services in the community (e.g., homes, schools, shelters). The Team serves adults, adolescents, and children who are experiencing a behavioral health (mental health and/or substance use) crisis regardless of their funding source. MCOT offers short term crisis intervention and prevention services utilizing strength-based, solution-focused, culturally competent, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented interventions.

What services do we offer?
Urgent community response, usually within 2 hours
Care planning services for up to 2 weeks
Community Outreach
Involuntary Treatment Act Services

2026 Division Street
Bellingham, WA 98226
Phone: 360-812-7220

Services:
Safe withdrawal from alcohol and drugs
Counseling
Motivational programming
Referrals to mental health services
Assessments and referrals to substance use disorder treatment, once admitted

1-800-584-3578
www.imhurting.org

Whether you had a bad day, or just need a non-judgmental ear to listen, we are here for you, no matter what you want to talk about. Our highly-skilled and compassionate staff are here to help.

If you are in a state of distress, reach out today. Our crisis services are available 24/7 by phone and via chat. Call 1-800-584-3578 or visit www.imhurting.org. Our support is free, confidential, and always available.

360-312-3717
https://www.oppco.org/whsc/

Connecting persons experiencing homelessness with services and supporting community members in working through issues surrounding homelessness. Monday to Friday, 7AM – 5:30PM.

1-800-584-3578
2026 Division Street, Bellingham, WA 98226

The Whatcom County Triage Center (WCTC) provides services to adults who are experiencing a mental health crisis, or who are in need of withdrawal management services, and helps them restore and stabilize their health.

The stabilization facility offers an alternative to hospitalization or arrest. It is also a clear point of access to mental health and substance use services in Whatcom County.

To access this service, call the VOA Care Crisis Response Services ‘the Care Crisis Line” at 1-800-584-3578, 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year to speak with a licensed mental health professional who will assess the situation and make appropriate referrals.

Link: https://cob.org/services/housing/homeless/shelter-resources
Phone: (360) 778-8000
Address: 1530 Cornwall Avenue, Bellingham, WA 98225

Emergency Shelters and Day Centers
The City of Bellingham partners with and/or provides funding to several organizations that provide emergency overnight shelter and day center accommodations for people experiencing homelessness.

Sustainable Connections list of opportunities to donate, as well as help available for farms and farmers
https://sustainableconnections.org/flood-relief-resources/

If a farm needs flood emergency or recovery assistance, they should contact Whatcom Emergency Management at 360-676-6681.
If the need cannot be addressed locally, it is passed up to State Emergency Operations Center which has staff from the state Department of Agriculture (WSDA).
Locally, the federal USDA Farm Services Agency (FSA) can be reached at 360-318-8121 or in person at: Everson Service Center 914 Citadel Drive, Suite C, Everson WA 98247
FSA has three programs that might provide assistance to local farms depending upon their circumstances:
ECP helps pay for fence replacement, cleaning debris off of fields, emergency loans.
TAP help costs if plants (trees, berries) die from flooding. Pays cost-share on purchasing and replanting of new plants.
ELAP helps with feed loss. Producers have to provide a way to document what they normally feed with the costs and how much was lost.

North Sound ACH Care Coordination Referral Form: https://northsoundach.org/referral/
Address: 1204 Railroad Ave., Suite 200 Bellingham WA 98225
Phone: (360) 543-8858
E-mail: info@NorthSoundACH.org

North Sound ACH currently works with clinical and community organizations across five counties – Island, San Juan, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom. We partner across the state with other ACH regions, working to make Washington a place working to make the state a welcoming place for all.

Care Coordination Agencies:

• Compass Health
• San Juan County Health and Community Services
• SeaMar Community Health Centers

Call, email, or use submission form to indicate areas of need and North Sound ACH staff will connect you to the appropriate resource(s). Examples of resources include:
1. Distributing food kits, care kits
2. Providing hotel vouchers
3. Connecting to navigators in multiple languages throughout the North Sound

DisasterAssistance.gov resources: https://www.disasterassistance.gov/information/moving-forward/your-official-documents

Website: https://mil.wa.gov/for-individuals-households-businesses#Individual
The Individual Assistance Program (IA): IA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) program to support individual and business recovery and is authorized through a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration. The IA program has multiple components including cash assistance and crisis counseling, a detailed declaration process and benefits that vary depending on several factors.  For more information, please click here.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loan Program: SBA disaster loans are available even without a Presidential Disaster Declaration and are a great tool to provide low-interest loans to individuals, families, businesses and organizations that suffer physical or economic loss due to a disaster or other disruption. For more information, please click here. For more information, please click here.

Limited English Proficiency Program: The LEP program supports language accessibility for individuals, families and businesses by working with state and local governments and community organizations to promote preparedness activities in communities around the state. For more information, please click here.

Disaster Resilience, Recovery and Restoration: Disaster Recovery includes both pre-disaster recovery planning and post-disaster recovery to re-envision and restore a community. Technical assistance and information is available for local governments, special districts, and organizations. Please click here for more information.

Individual Assistance, SBA, other Human Services Programs
Travis Linares-Hengen
Human Services Program Manager
Travis.linares-hengen@mil.wa.gov
(253) 512-7028

Limited English Proficiency Program
Lewis Lujan
Limited English Proficiency Coordinator
Lewis.Lujan@mil.wa.gov
(253) 512-7138

Website: https://www.dshs.wa.gov/node/62
Download Application in 12 languages
Emergency Programs Offered include: Medical Programs, Emergency Food Assistance, Emergency Cash Assistance

Washington Department of Social and Health Services Disaster Cash Assistance Program
https://www.dshs.wa.gov/esa/emergency-assistance-programs/disaster-cash-assistance-program

4101 Meridian St., Bellingham, 98226
877-501-2233

Cash program activated due to natural disasters or other specified states of emergency declared by the Governor. It is available to families or individuals without children who face an emergency and don’t have the money to meet their basic needs.

Northwest Region Disaster Relief and Recovery Website: https://www.redcross.org/local/washington/get-help.html
Northwest Region Website: https://www.redcross.org/local/washington.html
Northwest Region Disaster Relief and Recovery Phone: (206)-323-2345

Whatcom County Government Website (with News Flash (News and Updates): https://www.whatcomcounty.us/

Flood Response Information: https://www.whatcomcounty.us/3827/Flood-Response-Information
How to Get Help If You’ve Been Affected, and How to Help Your Fellow Community Members

Swift Creek and Sumas River Flooding and Asbestos Fact Sheet (Download PDF)

Local News: https://kgmi.com/news/sections/local/

Weather: https://kgmi.com/weather/

School and Event Closures: https://kgmi.com/closings/

Studio Line: 360-676-KGMI (5464)
24-Hour News Tips: 360-733-4564
Email News Tips: kgmi@kgmi.com
General Questions/Comments: kgmi@kgmi.com

Whatcom Breaking News Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WhatcomNewsAlert/
Whatcom Breaking News Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/whatcom_news

FEMA Website: https://www.fema.gov/
Washington Severe Storms, Flooding: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4635

Public Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/495680071479063
Nooksack River Flooding Disaster November 2021. This Group is for getting information, sharing pictures, rescue stories, and anything related to this horrible disaster. Everyone is welcome.

https://mil.wa.gov/alerts

The Washington State Emergency Management Division offers various local options for you to be quickly alerted to floods, wildfires, and more.

https://www.nwys.org/

Northwest Youth Services is a non-profit organization serving young people ages 13-24 experiencing homelessness in Whatcom and Skagit Counties.

We support youth in identifying goals and building the skills necessary to reach their own sense of stability.

Northwest Youth Services offers housing, street outreach, help finding a job or enrolling in school, connection to mental health services, support for LGBTQ youth, restorative justice for juvenile respondents, and referrals to other services in the community.

https://doh.wa.gov/emergencies/be-prepared-be-safe/get-ready
Emergency events in our state range from earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions to more common events such as flooding, windstorms or disease outbreaks. Now is a good time to get ready for whatever might happen.

• Have an emergency kit
• Make a plan with your family
• Get involved in your community

Washington State Department of Health offers practical advice to ensure you are prepared.

https://www.redcross.org/local/washington/take-a-class/cpr
Washington CPR classes and first aid training opportunities are available in dozens of locations throughout the state, making it easy to find one that will suit your schedule. Learn more about our classes and find out how to get certified locally.

After successfully completing your CPR training in Washington your certification will be good for two years. In order to help you maintain your certification, we offer abbreviated CPR and first aid renewal classes not only allow you to stay up to date on the latest techniques, but once complete they allow you to extend your certification by two additional years.

http://www.whatcomready.org/cert/
360-778-7163
311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington

The Whatcom CERT program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area, and trains them in basic disaster response skills.  CERT members are prepared to safely and efficiently assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.

https://insight-editor.livestories.com/s/v2/whatcom-community-foundation-small-business-relief-fund/7e3dea8a-18b8-4869-a23b-2a6d3d2a7078?fbclid=IwAR0DwLg1V3avdsQgjWSTiqloNiBx7AuFHPPVWB2A3dWA0rHnFCTJ0_SypX0

Grants up to $5,000.
The Fund is providing resources to support and invest in the recovery and resilience of Whatcom County’s flood affected small businesses to preserve community character and foster economic viability. Recovery Grants are intended to help cover essential expenses, including rent, payroll, repairs and mitigation measures to better face future disasters.

Applications must be submitted by May 3, 2022.

General Timeline:

• April 15th – May 3rd, 11:59 PM: Portal for applications is open.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered after the window to apply closes.
• Early May: Notification of grant awards.
• By May 20th: Funds will be dispersed to successful grantees.

PREP Website: http://www.prepgroup.org/
PREP Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PointRobertsPREP/
PO Box 336, Point Roberts WA 98281
(360) 945-7737
contact@prepgroup.org

https://www.disasterassistance.gov/
The Disaster Assistance Improvement Program’s (DAIP) mission is to provide disaster survivors with information, support, services, and a means to access and apply for disaster assistance through joint data-sharing efforts between federal, tribal, state, local, and private sector partners.

Website: https://www.whatcomcounty.us/200/Sheriff
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WhatcomSheriff/
Sheriff’s Office
311 Grand Avenue, Public Safety Building (Enter off Prospect St.), Bellingham, WA 98225
360-778-6600
Email: Sheriff@co.whatcom.wa.us

Please report any flood-damaged property as soon as possible to our Division of Emergency Management at (360) 788-5311. More cases reported increases the likelihood that Whatcom County will meet thresholds for state and federal assistance.

(360) 788-5303
8 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily
This line is available for those impacted by recent flooding who might not have internet access. You can reach them (360) 788-5303 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily. Staff are prepared to respond to calls regarding: how to get help (food, shelter, sandbagging, cleanup); current road conditions, shelter status; reports on conditions (loose cattle, debris, infrastructure); resources available; and where to report damage.