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thousands of residents in western Washington The region could face evacuation orders as another round of heavy rain begins Thursday, threatening devastating flooding as rivers approach historic levels.
Heavy rain that had been falling for several days had already prompted rescue efforts and road closures, and by Wednesday, Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency, warning that “life will be in danger in the coming days.” Some residents have already been ordered to higher ground, north of Skagit County, a major agricultural area seattlePeople within the Skagit River flood zone were ordered to evacuate.
Ferguson posted on social media platforms on Wednesday night.
Adjutant General Gent Welsh of the Washington National Guard said hundreds of Guard members will be sent to help communities.
In a valley leading to the foothills of Mount Rainier, southeast of Seattle, pierce county Sheriff’s deputies rescued people at an RV park in Orting on Wednesday, including helping a man wearing a Santa hat wade through waist-deep water. Evacuation of a portion of the town was ordered due to extremely high levels of the Puyallup River and concerns about upstream levees.
A landslide blocked part of Interstate 90 east of Seattle, with photos from Eastside Fire and Rescue showing vehicles trapped in tree limbs, branches, mud and standing water. Officials also closed a mountainous section of US 2 due to rocks, trees and mud.
More than 17,000 customers in Washington were without power as of Wednesday night, according to PowerOutage.us.
Flooding in rivers can break records
The Skagit River is expected to rise about 47 feet (14.3 m) in Mountain City. Solid early Thursday, and about 41 feet (12 m) in Mount Vernon Friday morning.
“We’re pretty confident we can handle ‘normal flooding,’ but no one really knows what a 41, 42-foot flood looks like south of Mount Vernon,” Darrin Morrison, commissioner of Dike District 3 in Skagit County, said during a public meeting Wednesday night.
The county was shutting down non-essential government services, including all district and high court services, on Thursday.
River flooding has long affected Mount Vernon, the county’s largest city, with about 35,000 residents. Hundreds of people were displaced by floods in 2003.
The city completed a flood wall in 2018 that helps protect the city. It passed a big test in 2021, when the river reached near record levels.
But the city is on high alert. Historic river levels expected on Friday could exceed the wall, and some are worried that old levees could fail.
“This could be potentially devastating,” said Ellen Gamson, executive director of the Mount Vernon Downtown Association.
Jake Lambley added sandbags, tested water pumps and moved valuables to the top floor of the home he shares with his 19-year-old son.
“This is my only property,” he said from his front porch Wednesday. “I couldn’t find anything else.”
Cities react to floods
Harrison Rademacher, a weather service meteorologist in Seattle, described the atmospheric river soaking the region as “a jet stream of moisture” that extended into the Pacific Ocean with “the nozzle moving along the coast of Oregon and Washington.”
In Sumas, a small town on the US-Canada border, flood sirens sounded at city hall and residents were told to evacuate. According to the Abbotsford Police Department, the border crossing was also closed to southbound commercial vehicles to leave more room for evacuation.
Climate change has been linked to some intense rainfall. Scientists say they can’t directly link any weather event to climate change without specific studies, but in general it is responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme storms, droughts, floods and wildfires.
Another storm system is expected to bring more rain from Sunday.
“The pattern looks quite volatile leading up to the holidays,” Rademacher said.
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Rush reported from Portland, Oregon. Associated Press writers Gene Johnson and Hailey Golden in Seattle; Martha Belisle in Issaquah, Washington; Sarah Broomfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
