Hit by several disasters, the agricultural area on the border with Canada is trying to recover after a deadly heat wave, forest fires and a drought.
At a small church near the border that divides the United States and Canada, volunteers in work clothes and muddy boots move back and forth through the hallways with donated clothes, food, hygiene and cleaning products.
Two days ago, the Sumas Adventist Christian Church was partially underwater after, between Sunday and Monday, almost 10 inches of water fell in the area in 48 hours . Sediment from the river still stains the floorboards.
"In the past this property has always been the refuge of the city," said Carl Crouse, the pastor of Sumas church, as he led volunteers sorting donation bags for distribution.
“We had 80 people here (during the flood) and they had to be evacuated. The water just started to come in, ”he added.
This northeast corner of Washington has been hit hard by natural disasters, with some residents and authorities blaming climate change. In June, the region suffered a deadly heat wave, a historic summer drought and now unprecedented rain.
British Columbia has faced record fire seasons in the past five years, which can destabilize the soil and cause debris to slide away in heavy rains.
"There is a possibility that this will happen again next winter , it is a real possibility," warned Jerry Debruin, chief of the Whatcom County Fire District 14 in Sumas.
“And it could happen every year. It's actually a bit depressing. What will happen to a city that is going to face these kinds of problems year after year, or every few months. That's the part I struggle with, ”he added.
Sumas abuts and in some cases overlaps the historically flooded Nooksack River lands, a glacier-fed basin that supports a robust farming community in nearby towns in the United States and Canada.
A deluge and early-season thaw caused the Nooksack River's flow to hit record highs between Monday and Tuesday, creating a destructive wave that rushed to farms and river deltas in lower Nooksack.
The flooding was caused by an atmospheric river that lasted for two days , flooding the region after more than a week of snow accumulation in the North Cascades.
The "devastating" effect of the recent rains replicated that of the heat dome that took over the area in June, causing warm temperatures outside the season and few winds or calm for almost a week, said Armel Castellan, a meteorologist preparing alerts. for Environment Climate Change Canada in British Columbia.
In Washington state alone, the heat wave was responsible for more than 100 deaths.
"The way the jet stream behaves in hot climates results in it being more prone to stagnation (...) as we saw with the heat dome in June (where) the high pressures were so high that it stayed", Castellan explained. “And it wasn't just two days of heat. They were six days of record heat, "he added.
This week at church, Sumas Mayor Kyle Christensen joined the recovery effort by donating boots, pants and jackets from the local fire department. Nearby, four volunteers bent over soggy sheets of paper containing the names and addresses of residents as they tried to determine who needs help, who has flood insurance, and where to send volunteers.
"This is the second time in two years that we have a flood," said Christensen. "The one in 2020 was not so bad but it came with great force and greater magnitude, also with higher water levels," he added.
At least 25 houses suffered water damage last year when floods hit, he said, but this time he estimates that, in Sumas alone, more than 300 houses were affected.
"Many families are affected, especially those who suffered in 2020," he said. "They are losing everything again, it will be devastating for them," he lamented.
This week the floods caused one death in Washington and an unspecified number in British Columbia . When the water level reached between 5 and 6 feet in some places, many communities used residents' boats, pickup trucks and heavy machinery from local farms for quick rescues.
John Perry, mayor of the city of Everson, in Washington, about 8 miles from Sumas, said that a local contractor saved his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren from the water by taking them to higher ground in the bucket of his power shovel.
“It is not easy to rebuild a community that has been decimated,” said Perry, who believes that 300 of the 700 homes in Everson were affected by the floods .
“The reserve resources that we normally use and that we rely on these days are facing the same problem. That the neighbors help the neighbors is great, but when your neighbor is also flooded, it is difficult, "he said.
Chris Elder, a watershed planner for Whatcom County, where the majority of the damage was reported, said a council member owns a barn near the river and that every time there is a flood he marks the level that the water has reached. .
"According to him, that barn has been in the family for over 100 years," Elder explained, "and this is the highest level of water he's ever seen, " he added.
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