Flooding in Washington state led to the evacuation of hundreds of people and the closure of roads

Flooding in Washington state led to the evacuation of hundreds of people and the closure of section I-5, CNN reported.

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Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency on November 15 after several days of high wind and rain that resulted in widespread flooding in parts of the state, the blockage of Interstate 5, power outages and the displacement of hundreds of people.

Emergency officials in Watcom County, which is located along the Canadian border, conducted search and rescue operations on November 15 in the evening as more than 500 people were forced to flee their homes due to flooding in the northern and northeastern districts of the county, the press office said. Cotton wool.

“The WCSO rescue vehicle was able to reach many residents and boats were used in areas where the water was too deep. These efforts will continue throughout the night,” the statement said.

Hundreds of residents were relocated to three “quickly established” shelters in the area, officials said.

Stephanie Koehler of Sumas, Whatcom County told CNN affiliate KOMO that a boat picked her up from the porch. She was transferred to another boat, and then she was taken to the bus on a tractor.

“We were scared. I mean, this is our first flood,” Koehler said. She planned to spend the night at the shelter with her 13-year-old daughter.

Kohler said she and others had put sandbags, but they were "actually being pushed out of their homes and into the river."

The dampness caused landslides in the region, which resulted in the shutdown of I-5 in both directions in Bellingham, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The highway is a major thoroughfare that runs along the West Coast from Mexico to Canada.

In Skagit County, Mount Vernon residents were advised on November 15 to evacuate ahead of the expected record flooding on the Skagit River on November 16.

The river exceeded its main flood level of 10 meters on 15 November. That's well below its record of 12 meters, Skagit County's Facebook post said. The record was set on November 25, 1990.

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The National Weather Service also lowered its forecast for Skagit in the early morning of November 16.

“A little good news,” NWS Seattle tweeted. — The Skagit at Mount Vernon is forecast to be around 11 meters this morning. This forecast is more than 30 cm lower than the previous forecast, which was close to the record level of 12 meters."

Parts of the city, about 100 km north of Seattle, are protected by dams, and residents in these areas are advised to keep an eye on emergency notifications.

“Evacuation is the best option for people to protect themselves in the event of severe flooding,” a news release from the city said.

Mount Vernon Mayor Jill Boudreau declared a state of emergency Monday, warning the city's 35 residents "to take action over the next 000 to 24 hours to protect their homes, families and property from flooding."

Mount Vernon is warned of flooding until late Wednesday.

This area has received 48-5 cm of rain in the past 10 hours and may have another 10 cm over the next five days.

“Forecast rain, along with expected rain and snow at higher elevations in the mountains, is expected to worsen flooding conditions,” the governor's emergency declaration said.

The report covers fourteen counties: Clallam, Grace Harbor, Island, Jefferson, Lewis, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Mason, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, and Watcom.

“This emergency weather order directs the implementation of Washington State's Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan procedures,” the release states.

In Clallam County, 10 people, including four children, were rescued from their homes by flooding in a residential area near Forks.

The agency reports that the evacuation was carried out with the assistance of coast guard helicopter crews.

All known residents of the area have been counted, officials said.

Severe weather conditions are also affecting electricity infrastructure, leaving more than 55000 consumers in the state without electricity as of 7 a.m. Nov. 16, according to PowerOutage.us.

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The city of Sumas said the flooding was slowing down efforts to restore electricity.

“Due to high water and many public safety concerns, we will not be able to restore power tonight. We hope to have power restored tomorrow if possible,” Sumas Mayor Kyle Christensen said in a Nov. 15 Facebook post.

“We are so grateful to all the dispatchers, first responders, city staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to help our residents today... Tomorrow morning we will continue to try to access our isolated citizens and offer assistance and support,” the post said.

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