Video: Levee breach could have been catastrophic

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SEATTLE - Three rivers remained at flood stage in Washington state Sunday as state officials began to assess the damage from last week's floods, mudslides and avalanches that caused major damage.

Rob Harper, a spokesman for the state division of Emergency Management, said some National Guard troops remained deployed at traffic control points in Lewis County, which was one of the state's hardest hit counties by flooding.

The rivers still at flood stage Sunday were the Yakima River at Kiona in Benton County, the Cedar River in the Renton area and the Chehalis River at Porter in Thurston County.

The Chehalis River was supposed to below flood stage at 4 p.m. Sunday, while the Kiona River was supposed to go below flood stage at 4 a.m. Monday and the Cedar River was supposed to go below flood stage at midday Monday.

As they start to assess the damage from this week's floods, mudslides and avalanches, Washington state officials said it could have been worse.

No deaths or serious injuries have been reported and the rivers were going down, said Linda Crerar, a spokeswoman for the state Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray.

Rescue operations have reached all but the most remote areas, so state officials were nearly certain that no one had been killed or seriously injured in this week's flooding.

"We had lots of opportunities with the flooding on the highways and the mudslides and the snowmelts ... for things to happen and for people to get hurt," Crerar said.

She credited the common sense of Washington's citizens: People are paying more attention when evacuation and other warnings are issued.

The state of Washington and its citizens were not as lucky concerning property damage.

Gov. Chris Gregoire gave what she called a very preliminary estimate for damage to roads and state property of $125 million. U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced $2 million in federal aid, with more to come after the damage assessment is completed.

No estimate has been made concerning personal property damage, but officials said the floods were devasting to many.

"The personal and financial losses flood victims suffered are extensive," said King County Executive Ron Sims in a statement, adding that "No words can effectively ease the pain that so many people feel now."

Karen Gilbert

This is Woodinville-Duvall road on the morning of Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 after the flood waters covering it receeded.

Chehalis River

Along Interstate 5, flooding was not as bad as some predicted.

Thirteen months ago, about a mile of the state's major north-south freeway was under up to 10 feet of water in low-lying areas. This year, flooding was more scattered and the deepest water measured about 3 feet, said Don Wagner, regional administrator for the state Department of Transportation.

Wagner said one dike on the Chehalis River was about an inch away from being overwhelmed when the river crested late Thursday.

"Another inch of water and we could have had a different story," he told The News Tribune of Tacoma.

On Saturday, the governor expanded the state's emergency declaration issued Dec. 24, after record snow fell across the state, to include this week's flooding.

The expansion gives local governments another opportunity to apply for federal money to repair roads, government buildings and other property.

"I want to thank Washington residents for their continued neighbor-to-neighbor efforts to support those around them," Gregoire said in a statement. "We can all be proud of how well we come together in the face of adversity."

Gregoire said the Federal Emergency Management Agency also approved Washington state's request for an extension of time to file for federal reimbursement of extraordinary snow removal costs.

Residents and businesses have been asked to report storm and flooding damage to their local emergency management agency.

KING

Flooding on Samish Island on Saturday, Jan. 10.

Roads reopened

Most major roads have been reopened, but U.S. Highway 12 from Packwood to Morton and Blewett Pass remained at least partially closed Saturday.

Workers were cleaning up mudslide debris on Highway 12 and planned to have one lane one during daylight hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The road between Longmire and Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park was closed for the weekend so park officials and engineers from the Federal Highway Administration could assess the stability of the existing roadway after water and mud sheared off an 100-foot section.

Although most rivers had crested and were beginning to recede, warnings of minor to moderate flooding remained in effect through the Sunday morning for the Yakima, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Cedar and Chehalis rivers.

More snow was expected in Eastern Washington during the weekend. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for Saturday and Sunday and predicted up to 5 inches of snow would fall in the valleys of northeast Washington and northern Idaho. Up to 9 inches was expected in the surrounding mountains.

Up to 10 inches of snow was expected Saturday in the north Cascade Range, the weather service said. The heaviest snow was expected in the Mount Baker area.

The Department of Natural Resources warned of continuing avalanche and landslide danger and asked citizens to report non-emergency landslides via forms available on the state agency Web site.