Snohomish County Receives FEMA Award for Flood Analysis

Snohomish County recently received one of three national awards during the Federal Emergency Management Agency's annual HAZUS conference in Seattle for “Best Use of the Flood Model.”

The county’s Public Works and Emergency Management departments were honored by FEMA for efforts to expand on work from the county’s Natural Hazards Mitigation plan. Specifically, flood modeling was used to better assess potential losses due to flooding for parts of the Skykomish, Sultan and Sauk rivers.

“We must continue to use better technology and methods to ensure public safety and to protect property,” Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon said. “Public Works and Emergency Management have the community’s safety at heart and that shows in the work that they do.”

Improved flood modeling may not produce immediately significant impacts, yet, it does offer additional information to help in flood response and future mitigation planning.