Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a state of emergency in response to severe storms which have caused widespread flooding and mudslides across the state.
“There are people in need across Southwest Washington and the rest of the state and we’re here to provide whatever assistance the local communities require,” Inslee said in a press release. “We’re in this together.”
Flood warnings remain in effect for nearly a dozen rivers in Washington state.
Towns along the Snoqualmie River were cut off from each other as water rose to phase four levels on Wednesday.
In Fall City, onlookers were awestruck – and perhaps a little nervous – about the roiling water in their midst.
In the Raging River Café, across the street from the Snoqualmie River, owner Kia Geels says the view is positively eerie.
”This is the highest I’ve seen it in quite a while. It’s got a lot of force behind it too; it’s traveling rather quickly,” she said.
The Snoqualmie River, by some residents’ accounts, appears to be five times higher than normal. A fence and the local baseball diamond are totally submerged. A small road people use to fish is completely under water – you wouldn’t even know it was there. Kia Geels says she’s seen plenty of trees in the water, as well.
“I had thought they’d actually cleared all the logs out with the last rise that we had in the river, but I’m seeing a whole new series of logs going down so it’s got to be touching areas that haven’t been touched in a while,” she said.
King County officials are blocking roads to keep people from driving through standing water. That leaves some, like fourth grader Joe Swanson looking for other ways to get to school.
“We had to go all the way around because we thought it was still going to be open so we figured we were just going to be a little late. Me and my sister started high-fiving each other and stuff,” said Swanson.
And so, here they are, sipping cocoa, biding time and avoiding the two inches of water in their basement.
Across the state, patrols are working around the clock to monitor roads and will re-open them when it’s safe. Officials are reminding us -- you should never drive through standing water. It can be deeper and more powerful than it appears.
