Snohomish County has flood-prone areas along all its rivers and streams. High water often arrives in late fall, spurred by heavy rains and warming weather that melts early mountain snows.
* Frequency of floods: Every three to 10 years.
* The largest flood plains: Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skykomish, Stillaguamish and Sauk river basins.
* Population in the flood plains: About 24,600 people. More than 7,400 houses, 1,300 mobile homes, 66 industrial or manufacturing sites and 16 schools.
* Property value: More than $1 billion.
Other big floods
* October-November 2003: Snohomish, Stillaguamish and Sauk river floods hit forest roads and hiking trails hard. Cost: $5 million.
* February 1996: One man drowned when he drove his pickup truck into floodwaters on Ebey Island. Roads, dikes and levees from Snohomish to Marysville were damaged. Cost: $1.2 million.
* November 1990: First big storm arrived Nov. 8, 1990, dropping 16.2 inches of rain over three days. Snowmelt added another 2 inches of runoff, filling every stream and creek in the Skykomish River basin. A second warm front arrived 10 days later and dumped 9 inches of rain overnight. Cost: $4 million.
* December 1975: More than 3,000 homes were damaged and 3,500 head of cattle and other livestock were killed when a pumping station collapsed at French Slough. Most of the Snohomish River valley was underwater for weeks. Cost: More than $42 million.
Shelters opened
The Snohomish County chapter of the American Red Cross has opened five shelters. They are:
* Granite Falls Middle School, 205 N. Alder Ave., Granite Falls
* First Congregational Church in Monroe 301 Lewis St.
* Stanwood High School gym, 7400 272nd St. NW, Stanwood
* Hillcrest Baptist Church in Sultan, 33019 Cascade View Drive
* Haller Middle School in Arlington, 600 E. First St.
Roads closed
At least 15 roads have been closed throughout the county because of flooding.
This includes Highway 530, which has water over it just east of Arlington. The highway is closed, and traffic is being turned back. Highway 530 is the main route to Darrington.
More than 1,000 cubic feet of mud washed across U.S. 2 east of Skykomish in King County on Monday evening, closing the highway until at least this morning.
Ben Howard Road near Monroe also is closed.
Go to www.co. snohomish.wa.us/PWApp/ roads/emclosure/index. html for more information on road closures.
Power outages
About 15,000 PUD customers have lost power since Friday due to heavy winds hitting the county.
About 1,000 homes in Mukilteo lost power shortly after 9:30 a.m. Monday, but were back up within an hour.
If your power goes down, report the outage to Snohomish County PUD by calling 425-783-1000.
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