The King County Council voted Dec. 10 to approve legislation that will alleviate expenses residents incurred due to November’s bomb cyclone weather event.

The storm, with wind gusts up to 74 mph, destroyed multiple homes and caused extensive property damage in East and Southeast King County. The legislation speeds up the permitting process for property repairs and waives fees. It also expands King County’s grant program to cover expenses related to the storm, such as insurance costs, generator fuel, hotel stays, food spoilage and fees for tree branch removal/disposal, according an announcement from the council.

Councilmembers Sarah Perry, Reagan Dunn and Claudia Balducci co-sponsored the legislation.

“We’ve seen firsthand how much a storm like this can impact people’s lives, not just with days-long power outages, but with catastrophic damage to homes, cars and other property. And it’s up to all of us, county government included, to help when our neighbors are in need,” Perry said.

The legislation also asks the King County Executive to develop an after-action report that will include recommendations on how to improve the county’s preparedness for and response to future storms and identification of legal barriers that would prevent the county from disaster recovery.

“The November 19 storm hit our King County communities hard,” Balducci said. “I’m proud to join Councilmembers Sarah Perry and Reagan Dunn in sponsoring and making sure King County is doing all we can do to support those who were damaged by the storm and coordinate continuous improvement to be ready for the future.”

A full report on relief options is due back to the council by Jan. 3 and the after-action report on the storm response is due Sept. 1.

King County residents can report damage and apply for property tax relief at kcemergency.com.