Record-breaking flood waters in Washington state have started slowly retreating after days of devastation that saw neighborhoods inundated, emergency rescues from cars and rooftops, and widespread evacuations.
“This is not just a one- or two-day crisis,” Washington’s governor, Bob Ferguson, said during a press briefing. “These water levels have been historic, and they’re going to remain very high for an extended period of time.”
Ferguson confirmed that Donald Trump approved Washington’s request to the president for an emergency declaration.
The flooding followed an exceptionally powerful atmospheric river that dumped more than a foot (30 cm) of rain over parts of western Washington, swelling rivers and saturating the ground. No fatalities have been reported, according to Ferguson.
Although officials have yet to calculate the damage, images and videos reveal entire neighborhoods under water throughout western and central Washington. Dozens of water rescues were carried out while landslides and debris blocked highways, and raging currents destroyed roads and bridges.
On Wednesday, officials issued immediate “go now” evacuation orders for tens of thousands of residents in the Skagit River floodplain north of Seattle, including Burlington, a farming community of about 10,000 residents. By Friday morning, muddy water had spilled over a slough and into homes, prompting renewed evacuation warnings.
National guard troops went door to door early on Friday in Burlington, alerting residents to leave and offering transportation to local shelters. By late morning, the evacuation order was lifted for part of the city as water levels began to drop. However, authorities warned that the river remained high and that flash flooding was still possible as pressure persisted on the levees.
The Skagit River runs down from Washington’s rugged Cascade Range, flowing through wide stretches of farmland and tulip fields before reaching Puget Sound. Communities like Burlington, built on the delta, are particularly exposed to rising waters.
In Mount Vernon, the largest city in the valley, the river peaked overnight at 37ft (11 meters), breaking the previous record by several inches. Roughly 1,000 Burlington residents were evacuated. A flood wall completed in 2018 successfully protected the city’s downtown.
Although the heaviest rainfall has ended, the effects remain severe. More precipitation is forecast to begin on Sunday.
Meanwhile, overflow from Washington’s Nooksack River worsened flooding across British Columbia’s Fraser valley, forcing more evacuations, inundating farmland and shutting down schools.
By late Thursday, Highway 1, the key link between Vancouver’s metro area and the rest of Canada, had turned into a vast expanse of water as flooding consumed the Trans-Canada Highway. The floods have also left many unhoused residents especially vulnerable.
While such storms are not uncommon on the US Pacific coast, experts have warned that they are likely to become more frequent and intense over the next century if global heating from the human-induced climate crisis continues at current rates.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
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