Streets flooded, rivers rising in Snohomish County

Published 7:01 pm Monday, December 3, 2007

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.