MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — National Guard troops went door-to-door early Friday to evacuate a farming city north of Seattle as severe flooding throughout Western Washington stranded families on rooftops, washed over bridges and ripped homes from their foundations.
Days of torrential rain have swelled rivers to record or near-record levels, with Gov. Bob Ferguson warning that as many as 100,000 people would need to evacuate statewide.
Officials had warned that dikes and levees could fail and issued “go now” orders Wednesday to tens of thousands of residents in the flood plain of the Skagit River, including in the city of Burlington, home to nearly 10,000.
But by Friday morning, the muddy waters began overflowing a slough and rushing into homes, and officials’ pleas became more urgent.
“ALL RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF BURLINGTON SHOULD EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY,” Skagit County wrote on social media.
A number of rivers surpassed their flood stages overnight, including the Skagit at the towns of Concrete and Mount Vernon. It crested at more than 37 feet (11.2 meters) at Mount Vernon, according to weather service data.
Some roads had no alternate routes and no estimated reopening time, including a large part of state Route 410. A landslide blocked part of Interstate 90 east of Seattle, with photos showing vehicles trapped by tree trunks, branches, mud and standing water.
Further north near the U.S.-Canada border, the cities of Sumas, Nooksack and Everson were evacuated after being inundated. The border crossing at Sumas was closed and Amtrak suspended trains between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia.
The mayor of Sumas, Bruce Bosch, said much of the city has been “devastated” by the high waters just four years after a similar flood.
Flooding rivers break records
The Snohomish River surged nearly a foot (30 centimeters) higher than its record Thursday in the picturesque city that shares its name, while the Skagit River had already broken its record as of Thursday night in Mount Vernon, according to the National Water Prediction Service.
The waters stopped just short of getting inside Mariah Brosa’s raised riverfront home in Concrete, but the raging river still slapped debris against her home and totaled her fiance’s work car, she said.
“I didn’t think it would come this high,” she said.
Flooding from the Skagit has long plagued Mount Vernon, the largest city in Skagit County with some 35,000 residents. Floods in 2003 displaced hundreds of people.
A floodwall that protects downtown 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, Mayor Peter Donovan said.
Officials respond to flooding
Authorities across Washington state in recent days have rescued people from cars and homes after the weather phenomenon known as an atmospheric river soaked the region.
Helicopters rescued two families on Thursday from the roofs of homes in Sumas that had been flooded by about 15 feet (4.6 meters) of water, while the city’s fire station had 3 feet (91 centimeters) of water, according Frank Cain JR., battalion chief for Whatcom County Fire District 14.
In nearby Welcome, erosion from the floodwaters caused at least two houses to collapse into the Nooksack River, he said. No one was inside at the time.
In a football field in Snoqualmie, a herd of elk swam and waded through neck-high water.
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.
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.
Rush reported from Portland, Oregon. Associated Press writers Gene Johnson and Hallie Golden in Seattle; Martha Bellisle in Issaquah, Washington; Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska; Mead Gruver in Fort Collins, Colorado; and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.
