Forecasters on Wednesday warned of the possibility for “catastrophic flooding” in western Washington, with some rivers projected to reach record levels in coming days, as a storm parked over the Pacific Northwest unleashed yet another day of heavy rain.
Tens of thousands of people living along some areas of the Skagit and Snohomish rivers, which flow from the Cascade Range into Puget Sound along the Pacific Ocean, were told to get ready to evacuate, as the area prepared for what could be some of its worst flooding in decades. Evacuation orders were in place for some residents along the Puyallup River, just southeast of Tacoma.
Gov. Bob Ferguson of Washington signed an emergency declaration Wednesday afternoon and said he thought federal assistance would be necessary to “help save lives and help individuals save their homes.” He urged people to follow evacuation orders when they are issued.
Unusually heavy rain has soaked the Pacific Northwest since Monday, as a sopping wet storm has draped across the region and into British Columbia, Canada. With more rain falling Wednesday, forecasters urgently expanded flood warnings, as many areas that were already experiencing some flooding braced for more.
“I’m very concerned,” Steve King, the hydrologist in charge at the Northwest River Forecast Center, said Wednesday.
“It’s as serious of a situation as I’ve seen in my history here,” he said.
The storm is pulling a plume of moisture off the Pacific Ocean and sending downpours of rain across Oregon and Washington and into British Columbia. There, officials warned of flooding in the Fraser Valley, and heavy snow in the mountains prompted warnings of a high risk of avalanches.
The storm’s reach has spread into Idaho, where some rivers are expected to flood in the state’s north panhandle, and even as far as the eastern United States, where the moisture sent through the upper atmosphere is supercharging the chance of heavy snow this week.
But it is western Washington that is facing the most severe and widespread effects, as the storm’s moisture is sent flowing up the Cascades before being wrung out like a sponge and spilling down the mountainsides as water.
The resulting rain has been slowly overflowing the region’s rivers, causing flooding that is expected to continue through the end of the week. As early as Monday, floodwaters spread across rural valleys, covering farmland and roads in low-lying areas. The Snoqualmie River spilled over its banks and covered rural land surrounding Fall City in water. The famed Snoqualmie Falls, which tumble 268 feet over a cliff, were raging Wednesday, and the river gauge there is projected to see its highest flow since 2015.
“Historically, we see significant floods every 20 years,” said Angela Donaldson, a flood plain manager and former president of the Fall City Community Association.
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