OLYMPIA, WA – Washington state awaits an answer on its request for federal aid as it deals with unprecedented river flooding from days of heavy rain.
There were no known fatalities due to the storms or flooding as of midday Thursday, according to Gov. Bob Ferguson. And officials say it is too soon to fully gauge the damage. But thousands of people have been told to move to higher ground to escape rising floodwaters, roads are closed around the state and there are concerns about whether levies and dikes will hold.
At a press conference Thursday in Mount Vernon, Ferguson noted he met with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials Wednesday afternoon, shortly after submitting his request for federal assistance.
“We walked through the numerous highway closures,” Ferguson said. “We walked through the flood levels. We walked through tens of thousands of Washingtonians being evacuated, and we tried to be as persuasive as we could to our partners in the federal government that they need to approve that emergency right away.”
He was planning to meet with FEMA officials again Thursday afternoon.
Late Wednesday, authorities ordered everyone in the Skagit Valley’s 100-year floodplain to evacuate. This includes Burlington, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman as well as parts of Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley. About 78,000 people live in the floodplain, local officials said.
In all, about 100,000 people were expected to be evacuated from areas across the state.
The National Weather Service called the predicted flooding “catastrophic and potentially life threatening.” Communities near the Skagit and Snohomish rivers and their tributaries could be inundated. The heavy rainfall brings the risk of landslides. Debris had already swept across sections of important roadways in the state, including U.S. 2 and Interstate 90.
While the atmospheric river is forecast to die down Thursday, fears of increasing river flooding remain through the rest of the week, according to the weather service. And wet conditions could continue into much of next week.
“This situation is extremely unpredictable,” Ferguson said.
“We’re using the best information we can to provide guidance,” he added. “I just want to emphasize that if you have instructions to evacuate from your local authorities, please, please, please evacuate.”
Ferguson activated the Washington National Guard to respond to the flooding. On Thursday morning, National Guard members were filling sandbags to help stave off the worst of the flooding along the Skagit River. A total of 300 were expected to be deployed by late Thursday.
State Sen. Keith Wagoner’s home in Sedro-Woolley is on the edge of the 100-year floodplain for the Skagit River. He said he and his wife have packed bags and moved items to the second floor of the house.
“Fingers crossed but ready to go,” Wagoner said Thursday morning.
Water could be seen on River Road at the city’s Riverfront Park on Wednesday, he said before joining Ferguson in Mount Vernon. “We are still safe but the water is still rising. I think the worst is yet to come. If the predictions hold true, it is really going to do some damage.”
To the south, the Snohomish River also rose to record levels early Thursday, with the potential for overtopping levees and flash flooding. Rivers as far south as the Cowlitz and as far east as the Wenatchee were also experiencing major flooding.
U.S. 2 and U.S. 97 remain closed in both directions, as are the eastbound lanes on a segment of I-90 near North Bend. Dozens of other highways and roads are also blocked.
Ferguson earlier this year blasted the Trump administration for denying his predecessor’s plea for federal aid in the aftermath of last year’s bomb cyclone storm. On Thursday, he was more restrained, saying he was focused on emergency response efforts.
In a letter Thursday, the state’s entire congressional delegation, including Republican U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse and Michael Baumgartner, urged President Donald Trump to approve Ferguson’s request immediately. They wrote that recovery in Skagit County is “expected to take years or even decades.”
“It is essential that the federal government steps in to provide the resources necessary to allow our state to respond to this disaster and begin the road to recovery as soon as possible,” the letter reads.
Ferguson said he’d encouraged “his friends on the other side of the aisle” to make their case for federal assistance to the Trump administration, amid fears the president is favoring Republican-led states for aid.
He plans to host another press conference with updates Friday.
Washington State Standard reporter Jerry Cornfield contributed to this report.
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