01/08/2009

Associated Press

The rain subsided and the snowmelt lessened Thursday, giving hope to flood-endangered towns in Western Washington that the worst might soon be over. But thousands of residents were still out of their homes and hundreds of roads were closed by the widespread flooding.

The National Weather Service has posted flood warnings for about two dozen rivers in 14 Western Washington counties, with flood warnings also in effect for seven counties on the east side of the state.

Here's an area-by-area look:

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. The National Weather Service said a flood warning has been posted for the Nooksack River, with widespread flooding expected downstream from Ferndale and swift water in residential areas and over farm lands and roads.

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 expected to crest late Thursday at Mount Vernon at or slightly above flood stage.

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

SNOHOMISH COUNTY:

Rescue crews were extracting stranded people in several towns, and the National Weather Service forecast record flooding on the Snohomish River at the town of Snohomish. The Stillaguamish River continued to rise Thursday and spill over its banks.

U.S. 2 across Stevens Pass remained closed.

The Snohomish River was forecast to crest late Thursday at more than 10 feet above flood stage. Officials warned the waters could top levees and cover Highways 2 and 9. A flood warning was in effect to Sunday afternoon.

The county Department of Emergency Management said about 40 roads in the county were flooded.

A trailer park was evacuated next to the Pilchuck River. In Snohomish, Robert Bishop, 48, and his roommates were rescued by boat from a two-story duplex that was nearly half under water.

"I thought it was fine, but it went higher than I thought," Bishop said. "It was very scary."

KING COUNTY AND SNOQUALMIE PASS:

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

Avalanche danger remained high in the Cascades, and Interstate 90 was closed at Snoqualmie Pass until at least Friday.

High water early Thursday closed Highway 203 in East King County, cutting the last remaining route to the cities of Carnation and Duvall. Much of Snoqualmie was isolated by flooded roads.

About 1,500 residents of Snoqualmie were urged to evacuate Thursday night, and about three dozen were rescued by boat.

The Snoqualmie River reached a record 8 feet above flood stage near Carnation about 10 p.m. Wednesday and may not drop below flood levels there until Friday evening, Doug McDonnal of the National Weather Service told The Seattle Times.

PIERCE COUNTY:

In Orting, Police Chief Bill Drake and other city officials were waiting before advising evacuated residents and business operators to return but said they were relieved to see flooding along the Puyallup subside dramatically overnight.

"What a difference 24 hours makes," Drake said.

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

Authorities 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 the night tending five gas-powered pumps to try to clear the water 2 1/2 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.

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:

A 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 around Chehalis was closed Wednesday evening by high water, 3 feet deep in some places. The Chehalis River was forecast to crest Thursday night, and by Friday crews planned to use pumps and breach a levy to help the water drain out.

State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said I-5 would remain closed at least through Friday. Hammond said about 10,000 trucks a day travel I-5 alone and the financial impact of the closure on freight movement is about $4 million a day.

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 all were predicted to crest at or near record levels Thursday.

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, giving officials a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, an evacuation order was lifted in South Kelso, near the border with Oregon.