Video: Rising rivers prompt evacuations

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SEATTLE – Heavy rain swelled rivers across Western Washington on Wednesday, causing numerous road closures and prompting authorities to recommend evacuations in some areas.

Click here for minute-by-minute updates.

No injuries or serious property damage were reported from the wet weather.

A state of emergency has been declared in Snohomish County, Pierce County and the City of Snoqualmie due to rising flood waters.

Late Wednesday afternoon King County Executive Ron Sims declared a local proclamation of emergency in King County. Residents were advised not to talk or drive through flooded areas.

The City of Snoqualmie recommends immediate evacuation of downtown neighborhoods, including Pickering Court, Walnut, Spruce, Park, Mountain Avenue and Mountain Drive. Shelter is available at the Snoqualmie Fire Station. Sandbags and sand are available at the King Street parking lot.

Several roads were closed, including Northern at Pickering Court; SE Mill Pond Rd from Meadowbrook Bridge to Tokul Rd SE; SE Reinig Rd from 396th Drive SE to Meadowbrook Bridge; and Cedar at Fir.

More evacuations

Two hundred people in Orting were encouraged to evacuate Wednesday morning, and about 350 people who live along the Puyallup River in Sumner were told to leave their homes.

In Orting, it's the Carbon River causing problems. Folks have dealt with it before.

When the Carbon River started rising and raging, Tracy Enoch started packing.

"I've got everything we can survive for the next month loaded in the car," Enoch said.

History has taught her to head to high ground. Two years ago a helicopter rescued her and her Orting neighbors.

The Army Corps of Engineers have been working along the Puyallup River to shore up the levees. At daybreak 16 dump trucks began making round-trips between the river banks and a nearby quarry, bringing crushed rocks that will add 6 or so inches to the levees along the Puyallup.

Neighborhoods under water

Several neighborhoods in Snohomish County were under water Wednesday.

Heavy rains overnight brought the Skykomish and many other rivers roaring to life. By midday, several neighborhoods were swamped. Many people had no plans of leaving.

“No, it’s another rain, another flood,” Brian Park said.

In nearby Sultan, water filled downtown streets curb to curb. Sandbags filled business doorways to keep them dry.

Cheryl Miner, whose bus was running late, returned to town to find her car drowning. Some good Samaritans helped pull it to dry ground.

"It may not look like much, but it's the only one I have,” she said.

A few blocks away, a family moved farm animals from a flooded pasture to their front porch.

The wall of sandbags around Howard Durant’s home failed. As a last ditch effort, he piled them around the doorways. Without flood insurance, the sandbags are his only hope.

“Hopefully we come back to dry carpets,” he said.

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier National Park was closed after the main access route, Nisqually Road, was covered with more than 6 inches of floodwater from Kautz Creek in the southwest corner of the park. Rangers used a service road to help evacuate seven guests from the National Park Inn at Longmire on Tuesday night.

The park was closed for months in the fall of 2006 because of flood damage from storms that dumped nearly 18 inches of rain in 36 hours.

Cosmopolis

 A small dam failed at Cosmopolis, a small city just east of Aberdeen off Highway 101, early Wednesday, flooding several streets and about a dozen homes with several inches of water.

"We are seeing some residences that are experiencing water in their homes," said Mayor Vickie Raines. "It's limited to C Street to I Street and between 5th and 6th Street."

The dam at Mill Creek Park gave way after it was weakened by a falling tree. The dam also destroyed a foot bridge above the dam commonly used by children to go to school.

A temporary fix is in place on that dam, but it will likely be next summer before the dam and pedestrian bridge are fully operational again.

Officials are especially concerned that a hillside along State Route 12 going into Aberdeen may give way due to heavy rains. The hillside has given way in the past; if it gave way again, it could block access to Aberdeen along that route. Water was also covering other highways near Aberdeen.

River flood warnings

Flood warnings were in effect Wednesday for more than a dozen rivers. Major flooding was forecast for the Puyallup, Skagit, Snoqualmie, Tolt, Snohomish, Skykomish, Cowlitz, Skokomish, Carbon and Niqually rivers. Moderate or minor flooding was expected on the Chehalis, Stillaguamish, Nooksack, Cedar, Deschutes, and Satsop.

Rain will be heavy from mid-morning through the afternoon in the Puget Sound region. Likely rainfall amounts through the evening include five inches or more over the Olympics and Cascades, one to four inches around the Cascade foothills, and up to three inches in the Puget Sound area.

About 5 to 7 inches of rain had fallen in the 24 hours ending at 11 a.m. Wednesday, and another four to six hours of moderate to heavy rain appeared likely, said Brad Colman, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle.

In populated areas, the 24- and 48-hour totals included 0.95 and 1.10 inches at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, 2.25 and 3 inches in Olympia, 2.20 and 2.50 inches in Centralia, 0.8 and 0.99 in Everett and 0.65 and 0.69 in Bellingham.

Evergreen State Fairgrounds sheltering large animals

Evergreen State Fair officials have opened their barns at the fairgrounds for large animals needing shelter. Residents can take livestock and other large animals to the horse barns.

About 130 animals, including 10 cows, four zebras and more than 100 horses, were being housed at the fairgrounds Wednesday.

In Pierce County, the Prairie Ridge Community Center, 14205 215th Ave. E in Bonney Lake is available for those people evacuating from the flooding rivers.

A pet-friendly shelter is an emergency shelter that has another building or a covered outside space for pets. Owners are asked to bring all pet supplies such as food, bowls, leashes, blankets, etc.

Chuckanut Drive slides

A 3-mile section of Chuckanut Drive is going to stay closed south of Bellingham for several weeks because of a Monday rockside that sent boulders the size of cars crashing onto the highway.

The Washington State Department of Transportation says crews moved equipment into place Wednesday and expect to start stabilizing the hillside above Chuckanut Drive on Thursday.

State Route 11, a scenic waterfront drive between Burlington and Bellingham, will remain closed from mileposts 11 to 14 during the work.

The department says the first step in stabilizing the hillside will be to knock down any loose rock and debris above the slide area. To protect the area from further slides, crews will also bind remaining rocks to stable bedrock in the hill with long rock bolts, then cover it with spray-on concrete.

Oregon flooding

The National Weather Service has highlighted the potential for landslides as part of flooding for the Coast Range of northwest Oregon, the lower Columbia Basin, the north Oregon Coast and the North Oregon Cascades.

In Western Oregon and Washington this includes Astoria, Cannon Beach, Tillamook, Vernonia, Jewell, Kelso, Castle Rock, Trask, Clatskanaie, Ryderwood, Raymond, Long Beach, Cathlamet and Longview.

In the north Cascades areas of concern include the recent Gnarl Ridge burn area on Mount Hood.

Debris flows are dangerous, rapidly moving landslides. Steep slopes, canyons, gorges and the mouths of mountain streams pose the greatest risk.

Care should be taken when traveling over the mountains during this time.

The flood warning continues for the following rivers: Foss River affecting Clatsop and Tillamook counties, Wilson River and Trask River near Tillamook affecting Tillamook County.

Heavy rain continues over northwest Oregon and up to 3 more inches of rain is possible.