Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Suzanne Schmid / The Herald  (click to enlarge) A car is engulfed by flood water after the owner was rescued under a freeway trestle at Maple Road and Ash Way in Lynnwood.  Photo Gallery: December 2007 Floods   ADVERTISEMENT   Weather As of 11 a.m., 2.3 inches of rain had fallen in Everett and 3 inches had fallen on Seattle. Heavy rainfall was expected to continue falling until the evening, putting the entire region on pace to break 24 hour rainfall records, D’Amico said. D’Amico said the record rainfall for one day in Seattle is 5 inches. “We’ll have a chance of breaking that,” D’Amico said. Two to three feet of snow has fallen in mountain locations. Some of that will melt over the next day or so as the snow level rises, he said. That melting snow could help flooding rivers climb, he said. A wind warning issued for the Everett area was downgraded to a wind advisory this morning, D’Amico said. Winds in the 30 mph to 40 mph range are expected until this evening with gusts up to 50 mph possible. He said it was gusty all morning. Already saturated soils may give way causing mudslides. Winds could also knock down trees and powerlines.   ADDITIONAL ITEMS • Interactive map of flooding (External Link) • Snohomish County road closures (External Link)   Related Stories • Roads blocked, power out along Washington coast 12/3/07 • Seattle Hill Road closed between Mill Creek, Snohomish 12/3/07 • Drivers urged to use caution during commute home 12/3/07 • Rivers threaten to flood areas hit hard last year 12/3/07 • Red Cross to open emergency shelter in Lynnwood 12/3/07 • Rain, wind pummel Snohomish, Island counties 12/3/07   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, December 3, 2007 Streets flooded, rivers rising in Snohomish County Governor declares statewide emergency due to storm damages By Herald Staff Expect a sloppy, wet and long evening commute as near record rainfall continues to pour down blocking roads, causing mudslides and forcing rivers to rise. Heavy rain that caused urban and street flooding all day is expected to force rivers to spill their banks tonight, forecasters said. “The biggest concern I have right now, as most people do, is the small stream and urban flooding. It seems to be hitting the county really hard,” Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management spokesman Mark Murphy said. A flood warning has been issued for the upper Stillaguamish River and flood warnings for the Snohomish River system could be coming tonight or tomorrow, weather officials said. “The worst is yet to come,” said Dennis D'Amico, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Governor declares statewide emergency Gov. Chris Gregoire has declared a statewide emergency due to damages caused by high winds and heavy rains in two days of stormy weather. She signed the emergency proclamation at 11:30 a.m. This means members of the Washington National Guard and resources of other state agencies will be made available to cities and counties upon request, she said. She said as of noon several local governments had issued their own state of emergency declarations, but none had requested state aid. Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said this morning that 800 Department of Transportation workers are deployed across Western Washington to deal with road and highway closures due to flooding and trees and power lines felled by the winds. Apartments, homes flooded Firefighters in the urban areas were called to help with flooding inside homes and over roadways. Storm drains were backed up and retention ponds couldn’t keep up with the large volume of water from the heavy rains and melted snow. “I’ve never seen this many calls for flooding in one day,” said Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes. Two apartment complexes in Lynnwood were evacuated as water spilled into the buildings, Lynnwood Fire spokeswoman Marybeth O’Leary said. A retention pond on the Rinker Materials property also gave way, forcing Everett police to evacuate about a half dozen homes on Glenwood Avenue near Merrill Creek Parkway as a precaution, Everett Police Sgt. Robert Goetz said. Glenwood Avenue between Kenwood Drive to Merrill Creek Parkway will be closed for the day as crews clean up the mess, he said. Sounder canceled There will be no Sounder commuter rail service from Seattle to Edmonds and Everett this afternoon, said Linda Robson, a spokeswoman for Sound Transit. She said mud and water on the tracks led to the tracks being closed. Railway rules require that they stay closed for 48 hours after such a closure, so the earliest service can resume is Wednesday morning. Additional bus service is being offered. Problems on roadways High water was forcing many roads around the county to close, including U.S. 2 at Stevens Pass. Water on the road was reported across the region and led Snohomish County to close sections of at least 10 roads. Many more roads, including the 220th Street SW offramps from I-5, were closed. Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies are asking people to obey road closure signs, spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said. If deputies have to rescue someone stuck in water who went around a sign, deputies will deliver more than just a helping hand, she said. “We will be citing them for violation of an emergency road restriction. That’s a $411 ticket,” Hover said. People also should keep 911 lines open for dire emergencies only, she said. Call county road maintenance or public works officials to report water on the roads. Drivers who made it to work late this morning may want to turn around and head home now, transportation officials said. At its worst, the drive from Everett to Seattle this morning was two hours, said Lauren Chudecke, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation. It’s normally one-hour long. More rain, mudslides, downed power lines and wind could make the roads worse this afternoon. “We could be seeing just as bad a commute this afternoon,” Chudecke said. “When they leave tonight, try to stagger their commute. See if you can leave a little bit earlier or leave a little bit later. She said that drivers need to remember that a stoplight without power is a stop sign for all. Rising rivers As the rain and winds ease this afternoon, officials’ attention will turn toward rising rivers. Firefighters in the east and north parts of the county were keeping a watchful eye on the rivers. “We’re assessing the situation right now and preparing for the worst,” said Granite Falls Fire Chief Rick Hjelle. “If the wind kicks up, we’ll be chasing downed power lines and, if the rivers flood, we’ll be looking at making sure neighborhoods are safe.” One person had come to the fire department to request some sandbags in preparation for possible flooding. The flooding is not expected to be as severe as flooding last year, which set records throughout the Puget Sound region, including on the Snohomish River system.

1. Teen dies after Granite Falls crash 2. Bikini coffee stands to be regulated as adult entertainment 3. Sultan brothers plead guilty in death of rival gang member 4. Body found after house catches fire north of Bothell 5. Gregoire unveils budget with deep cuts, will press for tax hikes 6. Grief and gratitude expressed for four slain officers 7. Two teenagers hurt in crash near Granite Falls 8. Friends and family honor Clearview couple who loved always 9. Roe appointed interim county prosecutor 10. Arlington's budget is ‘bare bones' 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Zambian woman thanks students for their help • Food banks see rise in use • ‘Making Spirits Bright’ in Edmonds • Wolfpack takes aim at state • Seahawks help students smile • 95 and still volunteering • Sno-King joined by local TV king • Veterans back for Wildcats • Lynnwood seeks to plug $2 million budget gap • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million