Flooding, avalanches, slides cut off NW Washington
Floodwaters rage through Maple Valley, Wash., on Thursday morning. (Photo courtesy of Don Butler) By KOMO Staff & News Services
Northwestern Washington state was effectively cut off from the rest of the nation and thousands of people abandoned their homes as snowmelt and rain swelled rivers and caused mudslides and avalanches that engulfed neighborhoods and closed major highways and railways.
More than 30,000 people were urged to leave their flood-endangered homes, and emergency crews are still scrambling to assist those trapped in flooded neighborhoods. Some rivers had crested at record levels and others were still rising. Dozens of roads and highways have been cut off, including Interstate 5 at Chehalis, where floodwaters several feet deep covered a 20-mile stretch of the main north-south arterial in Western Washington. State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said the freeway could be closed for four days. She said the flooding is similar to the December 2007 flood that caused a four-day blockage on the freeway. Crews on the scene said the water over I-5 is still rising at nearly one foot per hour. Water was also partially covering the southbound lanes of I-5 in Fife, just north of Tacoma, blocking two right lanes. Interstate 90 remained closed across Snoqualmie Pass by the risk of avalanches and mudslides, and the state Department of Transportation said it would not reopen on Thursday, as originally planned. Nearly 40,000 drivers - including 7,000 trucks - cross Washington's Cascade Mountains each day, and most travel on I-90, the main east-west route across the state. All other mountain passes remain closed as well, leaving no options to get out of northwestern Washington except by aircraft or by heading north through Canada. Amtrak passenger train service out of Seattle was suspended due to mudslides, the company said in a news release. Many school districts were again forced to close or delay classes due to flooded roads (see full schools list). Though the pounding rain that melted mountain snow and caused the flooding eased Thursday, flood warnings remained in effect for 14 counties in Western Washington and seven on the state's east side. The National Weather Service further warned that rain-soaked hillsides were at a high risk for landslides. "It's right up there with some of our most memorable flood events," National Weather Service forecaster Doug McDonnal said Thursday. "The thing that's kind of amazing in the past few years is how many flood episodes we've had." Hammond said when the Chehalis River crests Thursday night, officials expect water to be 10 feet deep over Interstate 5. After the water starts falling, crews plan to use pumps and breach a levy to help the water drain out. I-5 through Lewis County typically is used by nearly 55,000 drivers each day, with 10,000 of those being trucks. The state has 1,200 DOT crew members out working to clear area roads. Highway officials abandoned plans to get one main east-west route over the mountains open sometime Thursday, due to the danger from mudslides and avalanches. Overnight, residents continued to evacuate from towns and cities along flooding rivers. State emergency officials said voluntary evacuations were recommended for Snoqualmie, and for the southwest Washington cities of Naselle, Packwood and Randle. Fire trucks rolled through Orting on Wednesday, about 10 miles southeast of Tacoma, with loudspeakers advising everyone to leave the town and surrounding valley, home to about 26,000 people. Sandbags were placed around many downtown homes and businesses as the Puyallup River neared record levels. Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma declared a civil emergency for his city of about 200,000, largely because of Puyallup River flooding risks to the city's wastewater treatment plant. State emergency officials said voluntary evacuations were recommended for Snoqualmie, a riverside town 25 miles east of Seattle, and for the southwest Washington cities of Naselle, Packwood and Randle. The Snoqualmie River at Carnation, in the rural Snoqualmie Valley, was measured at 61.55 feet at 4 a.m. Thursday, more than 7 feet above flood stage and a record for measurements kept since 1932. On the mountain passes, crews are coping with huge amounts of snow and rain, and an avalanche of snow and mud about 100 yards wide damaged some weekend recreation homes in the Hyak area east of Snoqualmie Pass. Chris Caviezel, who has lived at Snoqualmie Pass for about seven years, said conditions were the worst he has seen. "We're getting avalanches and we're being flooded," he said. In flooded towns, police and firefighters used boats and hovercraft to reach stranded residents, and a Coast Guard helicopter rescued two stranded people in Morton, in southwest Washington's Lewis County. In Concrete, 70 miles northeast of Seattle, a 66-year-old woman was rescued after being trapped briefly in a house that was hit by a mudslide and collapsed. "It felt like an earthquake," Diane Bergsma said. "I thought I was dead." In Snoqualmie, kayakers paddled in the street as city officials urged residents in the flood plain of the Snoqualmie River to leave before they became trapped. Rachel Myers stood across a flooded parking lot from her home and waited for her father to pick her up in a boat. She said her family has lived in the house since her great-grandmother built it, but they've decided this will be their last winter there. "With flood after flood, it just gets more ruined every time," Myers said. What's next? The soaking rains have come to an end as the storm has pushed off to the east. A weak trough of low pressure will move through Thursday morning, bringing some scattered light showers through the early afternoon, with the exception of a Convergence Zone roaming between northern King and southern Skagit County, keeping some light rain going there. We'll then dry out as we get into the afternoon, and stay dry until Saturday evening. Up in the mountains, more moisture will fall, but snow levels will be dropping to around 3,000 feet by late morning, meaning it'll mostly fall as snow -- even at pass level. That will keep more water from running into the rivers, but make driving a challenge, especially since it'll now be the primary route between Seattle and Portland with I-5 closed. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday for as much as 6-11 inches of new snow, especially between Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass. That means if crews do manage to reopen the passes today, expect winter driving conditions. Avalanche danger remains extreme, and frequent pass closures for avalanche control are likely. Record river flooding Flood waters are expected to near or reach record stages along the Stillaguamish near Arlington, the Snoqualmie River near Carnation, the Skookumchuck near Centralia, the Newaukum near Chehalis, and the Chehalis River near Centralia. In fact, the Chehalis River is expected to reach a similar height to the floods of December, 2007. Major flooding is occurring on several other rivers, including the Skokomish, Snohomish, Tolt, Cedar, Nisqually, Cowlitz, as well as Issaquah Creek. You can find a specific river forecast from the list of links at the bottom of this story. Here are some of the incredible rainfall totals from between 4 a.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Thursday: First the major cities:
And here are some from the rain gauges along rivers and in the mountains:
Current Weather Information:
General Flooding Information:
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Current Temp
55.0 °F
Fair
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