CENTRALIA, Wash. - State officials began reopening Washington's major highways on Friday as floodwaters receded and road crews plowed away mud, snow and debris. But flooding continued on a handful of major rivers, and residents of some low-lying areas were only beginning to tackle the cleanup of their sodden homes.

Flooding, mudslides and avalanches began closing highways and driving more than 30,000 people from their homes on Wednesday as a warm, wet storm blew across the state, bringing a combination of heavy rain and rapidly melting snow in the Cascade Mountains.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, who toured flooded areas Friday, gave what she called a very preliminary estimate of $125 million in damage to roads, buildings and other structures.

Don Wagner, a regional administrator for the Department of Transportation, said none of the emergency repair work is in the budget.

"Our maintenance budget it really suffering. Our repair budget is really suffering," he said. "We will leave it to the politicians to help us figure out how we're going to pay for that."

High water closed Interstate 5 near Centralia, about halfway between Seattle and Portland, Ore., late Wednesday, while avalanches and the threat of more slides closed the state's mountain passes, including Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass, the major east-west route.

Along I-5, flooding wasn't as bad as officials had feared. One dike on the Chehalis River was about an inch away from being overwhelmed when the river crested late Thursday night, said Don Wagner, a regional administrator for the state Transportation Department.

"Another inch of water and we could have had a different story," he said. "We dodged a bullet."

In flooding just 13 months ago, about a mile of the state's major north-south freeway was under as much as 10 feet of water in the low-lying area south of Olympia. This year, flooding was confined to a few spots, with the deepest water measuring about 3 feet, Wagner said.

The state opened the freeway at noon Friday to escort long lines of freight trucks through the reopened areas to see how the roadway would react to the weight after having its foundations soaked.

Officials also plowed away avalanches to open I-90, which cuts east from Seattle through the Cascades. The two other major Cascade passes, U.S. 2 through Stevens Pass and U.S. 12 through White Pass, were reopened late Thursday, although White Pass was limited to local traffic because of slides and washouts.

East of Seattle in Carnation, Bob Marcey watched with binoculars Friday as the water receded from the home where he and his family had to be rescued Wednesday.

"It felt like the world was coming to the end. But right now I have the biggest sigh of relief I've ever felt," said Marcey. "The sun is breaking through. The water is receding very fast."

A few miles away in Snoqualmie, Ray and Cathy Gallagher were cleaning up the mud that covered the ground floor of their home, which suffered similar damage in a 2006 flood.

"I thought it was supposed to be a one-in-a-lifetime flood," said Cathy Gallagher.

Although drier weather was in the forecast, flood warnings remained in effect for 10 Western Washington counties, and the National Weather Service said major flooding was still occurring on four major rivers.

Many roads are still damaged and closed across the state, said Wagner, who figured the damage would run into the millions of dollars and end up more expensive than harm caused by last winter's floods.

"I would like to request that Mother Nature not dump as much snow on us or quite as much water on us all at once," Wagner said.

Freight trains were scheduled to begin running Friday evening on north-south tracks in Western Washington, said Gus Melonas, a spokesman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Crews were working Friday to remove mud and debris along the lines, including the Seattle-to-Portland corridor and Everett to Canada. Amtrak service was still suspended.

Freight trains were able to travel east and west through the tunnel beneath Stevens Pass during the flooding and bad weather.

Gregoire, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, and the state's two U.S. senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, toured flooded areas Friday.

Peters said the federal government was giving Washington $2 million as a down payment toward flood repairs, and that more money would be on the way once the state has specifics on the damage.

Opening the highways allowed the hundreds of truckers who pulled their rigs off onto highway shoulders or into packed truck stops to get back on the road. Stalled freight traffic costs the state's economy millions of dollars per day.

State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond estimated the economic effect of just the I-5 shutdown at $4 million a day. A major storm 13 months ago closed the same stretch for four days.

Here's an area-by-area look at the damage as of midday on Friday:

King County

Rivers in east King County flooded several communities, forcing people into boats as streets in Snoqualmie and Duvall were submerged.

Avalanche danger remained high in the Cascades.

High water closed State Highway 203 in east King County, cutting the last remaining route to the cities of Carnation and Duvall. In Duvall, a few medical emergencies were taken by boat to areas to the west where medical teams could access roads. "It's among the top 2 or 3 (floods)," Duvall Fire Lt. Todd Light said. "It's not as high as 1990 yet, but it's coming."

The rains and resulting flooding not only sent water surging through downtown Snoqualmie along the Snoqualmie River but knocked out power to most of that area, shutting schools, restaurants and stores.

Record flooding was reported on the Snoqualmie River at Carnation. The river crested at 61.5 feet early Thursday, 7.5 feet above flood stage, and was falling slowly, the Weather Service said.

A dozen Washington National Guard members with four high-clearance, all-wheel-drive trucks were dispatched to assist fire and rescue crews to respond to calls in areas isolated by high water.

Pierce County

In Orting, after evaluating potential damage, Mayor Cheryl Temple and other city officials told residents and business operators Thursday afternoon that they could return to the town.

"What a difference 24 hours makes," Police Chief Bill Drake said.

Concern in Pierce County was shifting to the stability of levees and debris-damaged bridges as flooding receded along the Puyallup and other rivers, said Barb Nelson, an emergency management spokeswoman.

Authorities on Wednesday had warned residents to evacuate Orting, about 10 miles southeast of Tacoma, and the surrounding valley, home to about 26,000 people. Sandbags were placed around many downtown homes and businesses as the Puyallup River neared record levels.

Jamie Hicks spent Wednesday night tending five gas-powered pumps to try to clear the water 2½ feet in parts of his Orting home, about 50 yards from the Puyallup River.

"We're veterans at this. You just pump it out. There's nothing you can do. It will go down," Hicks said.

"I'm in one big drain hole," he added.

Whatcom County

A mudslide early Thursday damaged five houses along the Mount Baker Highway near Deming. Washington State Patrol Trooper Keith Leary said no one was injured, but two people were temporarily trapped in one of the houses by a downed power line.

Scores of roads throughout the county and in Bellingham were closed by high water.

Skagit County

Dozens of roads were closed and damaged by water throughout Skagit County, and many schools were closed because of the flooding. Although the Samish River has flooded at near-record levels, the county's major river, the Skagit, was just a half foot above flood stage near Mount Vernon late Thursday and only minor flooding was reported or forecast.

The state Department of Transportation reopened State Highway 20 between Sedro-Woolley and Concrete, but the road remained closed by slides east of Concrete.


Thurston and Mason Counties

A Shelton man was rescued after being swept into a raging stream after his car plunged into a washout. Mason County sheriff's Deputy B. Dean Byrd said the 50-year-old man was lucky to make it through the ordeal early Thursday.

Rescue crews were spread out in Thurston County as well, plucking residents from flooded homes in the small town of Bucoda, 20 miles south of Olympia.

Lewis and Grays Harbor Counties

Many areas devastated by floods in December 2007 faced more high water just 13 months later. A Coast Guard helicopter was used to remove some people stranded by water in eastern Lewis County.

The Chehalis, Newaukum and Skookumchuck rivers in the county were all flooding.

Jean Richardson, 71, of Centralia, said her house was on high enough ground, but she worried about other residents who were just getting back into homes after repairing damage from last winter.

"I feel so sorry for those people," she said, adding, "We're having these 100-year floods every year now."

In Grays Harbor County, sheriff's deputies rescued several people from flooding homes. Officials issued a voluntary evacuation notice for people living near rivers, including the swollen Chehalis.

"We don't want to create panic, but we don't want people that live near the river to procrastinate and have to be rescued," Lynn O'Connor, public information officer for the county's Department of Emergency Management, told the Aberdeen Daily World.

Cowlitz County

Levees along rivers in Cowlitz County were holding, officials said. Meanwhile, an evacuation order was lifted in south Kelso, near the border with Oregon.

Pacific County

High water and landslides blocked almost every highway leading out of the county. U.S. Highway 101 was opened later Thursday between Raymond and Aberdeen but remained blocked by slides south of South Bend. Storekeepers said they had plenty of water, gasoline and other supplies but could run low if roads remained closed for an extended period.

A landslide north of South Bend broke a major 12-inch water supply line Wednesday night, and residents and business operators were asked to make no use of water from the tap. Schools were closed, along with heavily water-dependent oyster canneries.