Flood warnings issued; some residents ordered to evacuate

Flood warnings were issued today for numerous rivers in a dozen Western Washington counties, including King and Snohomish, and evacuations have been ordered in one community and are being urged in three other areas.

Declaration of emergency have been made in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties and in the city of Snoqualmie.

An emergency declaration allows county departments "to enter into contracts and incur obligations necessary to protect and provide emergency assistance to victims of flooding," according to information provided by the office of King County Executive Ron Sims.

Evacuations

Residents in and around Orting in Pierce County have been told to evacuate because of the rising Carbon River.

In Snohomish County, people living in the Tualco Road and Ben Howard Road areas south and southeast of Monroe have been urged to prepare for evacuation because of rising water on the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers, according to the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management.

Residents of several neighborhoods in the city of Snoqualmie were encouraged to evacuate because of rising water from the Snoqualmie River.

Voluntary evacuations also were occurring in Index, Sultan and Gold Bar as waters from the Skykomish and Wallace rivers began to overflow.

An emergency declaration to respond to flooding in Snohomish County was issued at midday by Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon.

The state Department of Transportation closed the Green River Bridge between Enumclaw and Black Diamond after geotechnical experts detected small movements in the soil holding up the bridge.

"The inclinometer sent a reading that showed soil movement 40 feet below the bridge. We chose to close the bridge to all traffic and ordered our crews out of the area as a safety precaution," said Messay Shiferaw, WSDOT engineer.

The bridge might be closed until Friday.

Other road closures:

Highway 202 from the Fish Hatchery Road to Highway 203 in East King County was closed because of a foot of water on the roadway.

Highway 123 near Mount Rainier was closed at milepost 10 because of the heavy rain.

Wednesday evening, all lanes of Highway 203 were blocked from Fall City to Carnation because of water on the roadway.

Also Wednesday evening, Highway 410 at milepost 41 near Enumclaw was closed so crews could clear a landslide approximately 50 feet long and 20 feet high. Highway 410 is also closed in both directions at Traffic Avenue in Sumner because of water on the roadway.

Rescue and relocation

Near Startup along Highway 2 and the Skykomish River, a family was caught inside its mobile home by rising water, but firefighters were able to get everyone out safely, according to Fire District 5 in Snohomish County.

In Sultan, water has spilled over from the Skykomish River and is over Main Street. Sultan schools sent students home early because of the flooding, district officials said. Sultan High School students have been enlisted to help in sandbagging efforts.

Public works crews in Snohomish County began delivering sand and bags this morning to various locations to prepare for potential flooding along the Skykomish, Snohomish and Stillaguamish rivers.

Meanwhile, barns at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe have been opened for residents needing shelter for their livestock and large animals. Already some 100 horses, 10 cows and four zebras are on their way to the fairground, according to Snohomish County officials.

At the Werkhoven dairy farm, south of Monroe, workers struggled to move cattle to higher ground and away from floodwaters.

"Major" flooding expected

The National Weather Service says "major" flooding is expected along several rivers, including the Satsop, Nooksack, Skagit, Stillaguamish, Skykomish, Snohomish, Tolt, Snoqualmie, Cedar, Carbon, Puyallup and Nisqually.

The Tolt River near Carnation rose above flood stage around 5 this morning and is expected to crest by 10 tonight.

"We usually get flooding around this time of year, but this time we're getting a lot of major or near-record flooding," said meteorologist Johnny Burg.

In the city of Snoqualmie, the mayor declared a state of emergency this afternoon due to flooding. The Snoqualmie River is currently at a Phase IV flood level, according to city officials.

Flooding is occurring in downtown Snoqualmie neighborhoods, including Pickering Court, Walnut, Spruce, Park, Mountain Avenue and Mountain Drive.

Expected flooding prompted officials in the Snoqualmie Valley School District to close schools today.

Widespread trouble

Pierce County declared a state of emergency this afternoon because of expected floods for the Nisqually, Puyallup and Carbon rivers.

Emergency-management crews have alerted about 200 residents near the Carbon River to evacuate due to forecast flooding, said Sheri Badger, spokeswoman for the department.

Mount Rainier National Park has closed because of flooding. Heavy rain caused a creek to flow over Nisqually Road, the main road in the southwest corner of the park.

Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga announced the closure this morning after Kautz Creek overflowed, covering the road with more than six inches of water and making travel unsafe.

A small dam has failed at Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, flooding several streets and nearby homes with several inches of water. The dam at Mill Creek Park gave way after it was weakened by a falling tree.

There were no injuries, but 12 to 20 homes below the dam ended up with 1 to 2 feet of water, said Mayor Vickie Raines.

She said half of the 20-foot-wide, 4-foot-deep partial-concrete dam gave way.

Raines said Mill Creek Park "looks like a chocolate river, a river of mud, with a lot of debris."

Wind and water

The heaviest rain was expected to occur this morning, tapering off later in the day. High temperatures are expected to hit 57 degrees today in the Seattle region.

The Weather Service said a strong frontal system containing tropical moisture from as far away as the South China Sea is forecast to bring heavy rainfall to the Northwest through today.

A plume of moisture was still sitting offshore and likely to move south, bringing more rain to the Olympic Peninsula first, National Weather Service meteorologist Jay Albrecht said Tuesday.

But, according to forecasts, the Seattle area should generally get less than 2 inches of rainfall. That's because the area is in the rain shadow of the Olympics, Albrecht said.

A wind advisory remains in effect until 10 this evening. The storm system moving across the Pacific Northwest will create winds from 30 to 39 mph with gusts up to 55 mph.

Freezing levels around 8,500 feet were expected to rise to more than 10,000 feet through today.

Weather Service meteorologists said the combination of strong westerly winds in the mid-portion of the atmosphere and a lot of moisture was expected to bring 5 to 10 inches of rainfall in the Cascades and Olympics, while 3 to 6 inches was expected along the coast.

The southwest interior lowlands and portions of the north interior near the Cascades were expected to get 2 to 4 inches of rainfall.

Seattle Times staff reporters Lynn Thompson, Peyton Whitely, Sonia Krishnan, Charles E. Brown, Erik Lacitis and Christine Clarridge and The Associated Press contributed to this report.