Flood waters surged into the Snohomish River valley today, leading to strandings, rescues and the beginning of what promised to be a fierce battle fought with sandbags.
Flooding near Snohomish was expected to exceed records set in 1990, said Chris Badger, an emergency planner for Snohomish County’s Department of Emergency Management. Heavy damage was expected.
“Based on the forecast it is the most significant flooding on record in the last 50 years,” County Executive Aaron Reardon said.
He said to expect dikes to disappear beneath “significant volumes of water.”
The Snohomish River at Monroe crested around 10 a.m. today. The river is not expected to crest near Snohomish until about 4 p.m.
By late morning, flood waters began to cover roads in the valley and to spill over the dike off Sunnyside Road near Marysville. A crew covered a 50- to 100-foot section with plastic and began piling sandbags on the dike.
Flooding forced about 320 people to spend the night in emergency shelters set up in Granite Falls, Stanwood and Monroe. More people are likely to be displaced as severe flooding is predicted along the Snohomish, where many homes are expected to be inundated.
On Monday alone, emergency crews in the county used 100,000 sandbags, Reardon said. At the same time, 150 people required rescue from swift waters. Of those rescued, 120 were pulled to safety by firefighters, 36 by deputies with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and one by a U.S. Navy helicopter crew.
Emergency workers today were to begin assessing damage in the Stillaguamish River basin. They need to make sure the roads and bridges are safe enough for people to return home as the flood waters recede, Badger said.
Since Monday evening, Monroe firefighters had rescued 15 people who were stranded by flood waters, Fire District 3 spokeswoman Audrey Duncan said. Firefighters used boats and kayaks to reach people who were surrounded by water. Some couldn’t get out of their homes and others had attempted to drive through surrounding water but became stranded.
Some areas were too dangerous for firefighters to reach by boat. Helicopters from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Coast Guard were used to rescue people, Duncan said.
Others, including Susan Dennis, who lives on the Lowell-Snohomish River Road fled on their own this morning as the waters rose.
The road between Snohomish and Lowell also is a dike, the only thing protecting neighborhood homes from the nearby rising water. Flood waters began lapping onto the road by late morning Tuesday.
Dennis, who moved to the area about a year ago from San Diego with her husband, Brad Dennis, said “This is a new experience for us. Im just going to keep praying and hoping for the best. But as I say that I see the water rising.”
Many rivers have crested and appear to be receding but people are continuing to become stranded because of numerous road closures and standing water.
Emergency officials this morning continued to warn people not to attempt to drive through standing water. Public works officials reported 40 county roads were closed due to high water.
While water is partway over the ramp at the intersection of I-5 and Highway 530, the ramp remains open.
At Monroe late this morning, the Snohomish was reported at 21.6 feet, more than six feet above flood stage. The record high there is 25.3 feet, according to the National Weather Service.
The Snohomish River at Snohomish was at 32.89 feet late this morning, a little more than half a foot below the record high set during the November 1990 floods. Snohomish city crews were fighting to protect the community’s waste water treatment plant, which sits on the river’s north bank. People lined up along the river overlook on First Street. They watched the water rush by, carrying large tree branches and other debris.
The Skykomish River was dropping at Gold Bar late this morning, down to about 19 feet. That’s about four feet over flood stage.The river reached a new record crest of 23.94 feet on Monday afternoon, nearly 1.5 feet higher than the previous record set during the floods of November 1990.
Sultan saw ebbing flood waters this morning, Sultan Police Chief Fred Walser said. Sultan City Hall was closed on Monday because of Skykomish River flooding, but water was only lapping at the steps this morning, and the hope was to reopen for business later in the day, Walser said.
The worst of the flooding may be over along the Stillaguamish River, where flood warnings were canceled near Granite Falls early this morning.
Although many businesses in downtown Stanwood had sandbags stacked at their front door, Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Hofstad said Tuesday morning that the Stillaguamish River was receding and the tide was going out.
“It looks like we dodged a bullet,” he said.
The flooding has caused major road closures, including U.S. 2 outside of Index. The highway was closed earlier today because of a major rock and mud slide about five miles east of Skykomish. Drivers are being asked to turn around at Baring. The highway is not expected to reopen today and drivers headed east of the Cascade Mountains are being advised to use I-90, Washington State Patrol trooper Kirk Rudeen said.
An eight-vehicle pile-up closed all lanes of Highway 9 at the Snohomish River Bridge outside the city about 8 a.m. No major injuries were reported. The highway was closed for about an hour while the vehicles were removed. Because of flooding in the area no alternate routes were available, Rudeen said.
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