Editor's note: This update is from Northwest News Network partner KUOW's live reporting. Follow their coverage here.
- "Catastrophic" conditions continue to threaten Western Washington as an atmospheric river sweeps through the Pacific Northwest.
- 100,000 people have been placed under evacuation orders from their homes in the Skagit Valley, a densely populated agricultural hub an hour north of Seattle, and told to move to higher ground.
- The National Weather Service said rainfall was expected to peak Wednesday night, while some parts of Skagit County to the north may not see the worst of the flooding until Thursday or Friday.
- Flooding is expected to surpass a record set in 1990, when floods caused two human fatalities, over 2,000 evacuations, and more than $100 million in damage, according to a Natural Disaster Survey report.
- Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency in response to the intense flooding. Several impacted counties also issued evacuation orders Wednesday afternoon.
Skagit County officials reiterate calls to evacuate
Emergency responders are urging Washingtonians to take extra precautions and listen to evacuation orders as Western Washington could see historic flooding on the Skagit River and in surrounding areas.
The National Weather Service forecasts the Skagit River will crest at over 39 feet by 10 a.m. Friday morning. More than 75,000 people living in Skagit County have been affected by evacuation orders so far.
Skagit County Commissioner Lisa Janicki made a direct plea to residents.
“You are responsible for your first level of safety,” Janicki said. “Please be preemptive, please get out if you are in that defined flood zone.”
Janicki noted that many businesses in Burlington and Mount Vernon have closed, as well as schools. But some are still making risky decisions.
“People are walking their dogs on top of these dikes that may fall,” Janicki said. “We’re hoping they hold, but there’s seepage in some spots.”
Julie de Losada, chief of emergency management for Skagit County, said after Mount Vernon experienced flooding in 2021, the city’s dike and drainage systems were impacted. There have been repairs from the Army Corps since that time, according to de Losada, but Friday’s forecasted crest will be the true test of their vulnerabilities.
“We don’t know yet until the water starts rising more and pushing against that dike system more,” de Losada said.
Speaking at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon on Thursday afternoon, Gov. Bob Ferguson said he spoke with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday afternoon, and emphasized the “tremendous need” the state has for assistance from the federal government.
“We tried to be as persuasive as we could to our partners in the federal government that they need to approve that emergency right away,” Ferguson said.
The governor said he’ll join another call with FEMA later on Thursday.
There have been no reported deaths due to the flooding so far.
- Noel Gasca
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.