Burlington, Wash. (AP) – When Eddie Weeks and his wife went to bed in their home along the Snoqualmie River on a Washington state farm known for its sunflower maze and Christmas trees, they weren’t too worried about flooding.
After 30 years living in the town of Duval, northeast of Seattle, their family had a lot of experience with flooding and had always been largely uninsured. But when they moved their two donkeys to higher ground and their eight goats to their outdoor kitchen, the water began to rise much faster than they had experienced before.
“It was hours, not days,” he said. “Got up four feet in four hours.”
After water engulfed their home Thursday afternoon, deputies with the King County Sheriff’s Office Marine Rescue Dive Unit were able to rescue them and their dog, boating them half a mile (800 meters) to their farm, which had turned into a lake.
Parts of western and central Washington were forced to evacuate thousands after an unusually strong atmospheric river dumped a foot (30 cm) or more of water on several days this week and swelled rivers, inundating communities and prompting dramatic rescues from rooftops and vehicles.
Record floodwaters were expected to recede slowly on Saturday, but officials warned that water levels would remain high for several days, and the risk of possible levee failure or mudslides remained. There is also a possibility of more rain on Sunday.
There is still no news of death.
Officials have yet to estimate the cost, but photos and videos show widespread damage, with entire communities or neighborhoods flooded around western and central Washington. Authorities have conducted dozens of water rescues, debris and mud have closed highways, and raging currents have washed away roads and bridges.
President Donald Trump has signed the state’s request for an emergency declaration, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said.
Authorities issued “go now” orders Wednesday to tens of thousands of residents in the Skagit River floodplain north of Seattle, including the farming town of Burlington, home to about 10,000 people. By Friday morning, muddy water had overflowed a ditch and reached homes, prompting more urgent warnings for Burlington.
Rain coming Sunday will cause the rivers to rise again, said Robert Ezell, director of the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division.
National Guard fans are out to help with the evacuation
Members of the National Guard knocked on hundreds of doors in Burlington early Friday morning to tell residents about evacuation notices and help get them to shelters. By late morning, evacuation orders were lifted for parts of the city and the water was slowly receding.
The Skagit River drains a wide swath of the rugged Cascade Range before turning west across wide, low-lying fields and tulip fields on its way to Puget Sound. Cities like Burlington sit in that delta, making them especially vulnerable to flooding.
The river topped the previous record by a few inches at 37 feet (11.2 meters) overnight Thursday into Friday in Mount Vernon, the valley’s largest city. The flood wall quickly caught up and protected the city area.
About 1,000 Burlington residents had to evacuate by midnight, Ferguson said. Water was reported to be 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 centimeters) deep in some areas as it flooded homes, police department spokesman Michael Lumpkin said.
Mario Rincón was staying at the hotel with his family, including a one-week-old infant. They returned to their Burlington property on Friday but were unable to get in, as murky floodwaters rose above the first floor.
“It will take a few days for the water to subside,” he said.
Near the U.S.-Canada border, Sumas, Nooksack and Everson — which have 6,500 residents — were inundated. Sumas border crossing has been closed.
In a social media message, Sumas Mayor Bruce Bosch acknowledged that community members were eager to return to their homes.
“Hang in there,” he wrote.
In King County, crews worked overnight to fill a sinkhole along the Green River in the Seattle suburb of Tukwila, County Executive Girmay Jahile said Friday.
Crews reach people by boat and helicopter
Authorities across the state have rescued people from cars and homes in recent days.
According to Whatcom County Fire District 14 Battalion Chief Frank Kane Jr., a helicopter rescued two families from the roofs of homes in Sumas on Thursday.
Near Deming, two houses collapsed into the Nooksack River as they were undermined by erosion. There was no one inside at the time.
Climate change is linked to some intense rainfall. Scientists say that without specific studies they cannot directly link a single weather event to climate change, but in general it is responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme storms, droughts, floods and wildfires.
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Rush reported from Portland, Oregon, and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press writers Gene Johnson in Seattle and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.
