Tens of thousands ordered to flee flooding after torrential rain in Pacific Northwest

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — Tens of thousands of Washington residents were under evacuation orders Thursday after a barrage of torrential rain that has overflowed rivers, sent mud sliding onto highways and trapped people in floodwaters.

“The flooding levels we’re looking at are potentially historic in nature, so we just want to emphasize how serious the situation is,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said at a news briefing Thursday, one day after declaring a statewide emergency. “This situation is extremely unpredictable.”

Skagit County, in a major agricultural region north of Seattle, has ordered everyone within the Skagit River’s floodplain to evacuate. Some 78,000 people live in the floodplain, according to the county’s emergency management chief Julie de Losada.

The high water mark upstream at the town of Concrete was below estimates but authorities warned people that record levels elsewhere were still possible.

“That doesn't mean to say that we're out of the woods, we're not,” said Robert Ezelle, director of the Washington Military Department’s emergency management division. “Because as the waters come down here, they're still going to be gaining strength.”

Along the river in Mount Vernon, teams knocked on doors in low-lying areas Thursday to inform them of evacuation notices, city authorities said. Further north near the U.S.-Canada border, firefighters rescued several people from their homes in Sumas, the mayor said.

Nearly 16,000 customers in Washington were without electricity by midday Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us. A mountainous section of U.S. 2 was closed due to rocks, trees and mud, with no detour or estimated time for reopening, according to the state transportation department.

Flooding rivers could break records

The Skagit River hit about a foot (30 centimeters) shy of the previous record in the mountain town of Concrete Thursday morning, according to the National Water Prediction Service. The river is expected to crest above the record in Mount Vernon on Friday.

“That's still a record flood, and so we're preparing for that,” Mayor Peter Donovan said Thursday.

Flooding from the river has long plagued Mount Vernon, the largest city in the county with some 35,000 residents. Flooding in 2003 displaced hundreds of people.

The city completed a floodwall in 2018 that helps protect the downtown. It passed a major test in 2021, when the river crested near record levels. Water was at the foot of the floodwall as of late Thursday morning, Donovan said.

In nearby Burlington, evacuation orders were kept in place Thursday as officials hoped dikes and other systems kept protecting the community from catastrophic flooding, said Michael Lumpkin, with the police department.

Some are worried that older levees could fail.

To prepare, business owners have stacked sandbags in their shops and residents have similarly done so to protect their homes.

South of Mount Vernon, access to the Fir Island wildlife reserve and farming area will be closed Thursday, authorities said.

Officials respond to flooding

Authorities across Washington state in recent days have rescued people from cars and homes after an atmospheric river soaked the region.

East of Seattle, residents along Issaquah Creek used water pumps as rushing floodwaters filled yards Thursday morning. Yellow tape blocked off a hazardous area along the creek.

Issaquah resident Katy Bliss said her home’s foundation was safe for now but that a pond had formed in her backyard. “It’s still scary walking around,” she said.

The border crossing was also closed to southbound commercial vehicles to leave more room for evacuations, according to the Abbotsford Police Department.

Amtrak suspended trains between Seattle and Vancouver.

A landslide blocked part of Interstate 90 east of Seattle, with photos showing vehicles trapped by tree trunks, branches, mud and standing water.

Climate change has been linked to some intense rainfall. Scientists say that without specific study they cannot directly link a single weather event to climate 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.

“The pattern looks pretty unsettled going up to the holidays," said Harrison Rademacher, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.

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This story has been corrected to show that the Skagit River is expected to crest above the record in Mount Vernon, not below.

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