Record flooding threatens Washington as more heavy rain pounds the Northwest
MOUNT VERNON Wash AP Residents packed up and prepared to flee rising rivers in western Washington state Wednesday as a new wave of heavy rain swept into a region still reeling from a storm that triggered rescues and road closures a day earlier In the Pacific Northwest an atmospheric river was swelling rivers toward record levels with major flooding expected in particular areas including the Skagit River a major agricultural valley north of Seattle Dozens of vehicles were backed up at a sandbag-filling station in the town of Mount Vernon as agents warned residents within the river s floodplain to be ready to evacuate We re preparing for what increasingly appears to be a worst-case scenario here Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan noted In the Mount Rainier foothills southeast of Seattle Pierce County sheriff s deputies rescued people at an RV park in Orting including helping one man in a Santa hat wade through waist-deep water Part of the town was ordered to evacuate over concerns about the Puyallup River s extremely high levels and upstream levees A landslide blocked part of Interstate east of Seattle with photos from Eastside Fire Rescue showing vehicles trapped by tree trunks branches mud and standing water including a car rammed into the metal barrier on the side of the road Leaders also closed a mountainous section of U S due to rocks trees and mud The state transportation department explained there were no detours available and no estimated time for reopening Washington Gov Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency Wednesday Lives will be at stake in the coming days he disclosed Skagit County leaders were preparing to evacuate people disclosed Robert Ezelle director of the Washington Military Department s crisis management division Gent Welsh adjutant general of the Washington National Guard revealed hundreds of Guard members will be sent to help communities Flooding rivers could break records The Skagit River is expected to crest at roughly feet meters in the mountain town of Concrete early Thursday and roughly feet meters in Mount Vernon early Friday Those are both record-setting forecasts by several feet Skagit County authorities revealed adding that upriver communities should evacuate to high ground as soon as accomplishable and that those living in the floodplain should be prepared to evacuate Flooding from the river long plagued Mount Vernon the largest city in the county with various residents In decades past residents would form sandbagging brigades when floods threatened but businesses were often inundated Flooding in displaced hundreds of people The city completed a floodwall in that helps protect the downtown It passed a major test in when the river crested near record levels But the city is on high alert The historic river levels expected Friday could top the wall and several are concerned that older levees could fail We ve seen our floodwall in action and we know it works to a large degree noted Ellen Gamson executive director of the Mount Vernon Downtown Association But the concern about that kind of pressure on the levy and dike system is real It could potentially be catastrophic Gamson disclosed countless business owners were renting tables to place their inventory higher off the floor Sheena Wilson who owns a floral shop downtown noted she stacked sandbags by the doors and cleared items off the floor If the water comes in above table height I ve got bigger problems than my merchandise she reported Jake Lambly added sandbags tested water pumps and moved valuables to the top floor of the home he shares with his -year-old son Lambly revealed he was concerned about damage in his neighborhood where people are just on the cusp of whether or not we can be homeowners This is my only asset he announced from his front porch I got nothing else Cities respond to flooding Harrison Rademacher a meteorologist with the weather institution in Seattle described the atmospheric river soaking the region as a jet stream of moisture stretching across the Pacific Ocean with the nozzle pushing right along the coast of Oregon and Washington Leadership in Washington have knocked on doors to warn residents of imminent flooding in certain neighborhoods and evacuated a mobile home park along the Snohomish River The city of Snohomish issued an urgency proclamation while workers in Auburn south of Seattle installed temporary flood control blockades along the White River Environment change has been linked to selected intense rainfall Scientists say that without specific investigation they cannot directly link a single weather event to atmosphere change but in general it s responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme storms droughts floods and wildfires Another storm system is expected to bring more rain starting Sunday Rademacher commented The pattern looks pretty unsettled going up to the holidays Rush communicated from Portland Oregon Associated Press writers Gene Johnson in Seattle Martha Bellisle in Issaquah Washington Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville Maryland and Kathy McCormack in Concord New Hampshire contributed to this document Source
