Western Washington is coping with the worst floods in decades. 18 local rivers are above flood stage. Crest times keep getting pushed back because it’s still raining. It isn’t supposed to stop until Thursday. Then it will rain again on Friday.
Houses are floating down one river. The Cowlitz river has changed course, taking out a neighborhood. One person has died.
I think we’re going to take coffee and sandwiches to sandbaggers and help sandbag this evening. Hubby doesn’t want me to go, but he will, for sure.
I like my politics as much as the next guy, but could we spare some of the Kentucky Derby for a second to cover this to some degree, so that people will know that help is needed?
I’d settle for a teaser for the local 10:00 news.
Much love to the Dopers in the PNW, hope you stay safe out there.
I remember the 1990 floods - which were the worst ever until, I guess, now.
I learned the names of all the rivers because the NPR station would give updates on which ones were still above flood stage. That meant weeks of hearing the (beautiful, mostly coastal native) names of the rivers. I could almost sing them - I could still almost sing them.
Please remember to stay safe! Do what you can do, but if you do too much then they’ll have to rescue you, too. So y’all be good!
Yeah, it’s getting to be a bit much. At work today somebody sent out an email along the lines of “Duvall is now an island. All roads are cut off due to flooding. If you live there, start looking for a hotel room, because you’re not going home tonight.”
It’s actually pretty clear out now, but who knows how long that’ll last.
I hear tomorrow is supposed to be a lot better. I hope so. As it is, I live far enough away from most rivers for my own home to be safe from damage, and where I work has only had relatively minor flooding so I’m a lucky one.
Stay safe, everyone. I know a lot of trade schools that’ll have students out volunteering, and I’ll definitely be out there helping where I can.
Hubby won out. I stayed home, he took coffee and sandwiches to some folks standing watch. I guess the sand bagging is pretty well finished.
I stayed home because he insisted.
We live above Lake Washington, so we’re safe. (we’re far enough back that even if the neighborhood slides into the lake, we’ll be ok.)
I’m on the Kitsap Peninsula (across the Sound from Seattle), so we have no major rivers to flood - just small streams. We’ll get the occasional flooded highway, or backed up storm drains, but that’s about it.
And it’s been clear since yesterday late afternoon. No more rain. The puddles in our yard have drained. I was getting a mite sick of the rain. Now, of course it’s going to rain, that’s not the problem. But see, Seattle rain isn’t rain-rain, it’s drizzle. 23 hour a day drizzle from October to April, that’s what we’re entitled to expect. So this pouring rain for a week was just annoying.
I have a co-worker who left work two hours early yesterday to get to his home out near Carnation, some thirty miles to the east of Seattle. He called us just before quitting time to say that all the roads were flooded and it looked like he’d be staying in a hotel instead. At least his home is on high enough ground that he doesn’t have to worry about flood damage. I’m not at work today so will have to wait to hear how things went.
The day before, we got home only to see on the news that a section of Aurora Avenue, one of our major thoroughfares and the preferred Tikkiroute to and from work, had been closed earlier because some trees (huge Big Leaf Maples, a staple of Seattle hillsides) were leaning dangerously over it. By the time we came that way after work, the crews were gone and all lanes were open and we had no idea there had been any danger. In the film footage, I could see an orange billboard in the background, so I knew just were those trees were. When we went by the next day, we couldn’t tell what the work crews had done to stabilize the trees but some of them were still leaning precariously over the road.
It’s dry now, with a high overcast, but there’s supposed to be another storm on the way.
**Lemur866, ** I hate that drizzle stuff. It’s almost too light to be called rain and it’s too heavy to be called fog and an umbrella is practically useless because it just drifts right under it. Give me good honest downpour and get it over with already!
Well, that’s the trouble, isn’t it? When it pours here, it keeps going and doesn’t get it over with!
Otherwise, I’m with you – if the clouds were just trying to get rid of x amount of water, I’d prefer an afternoon of downpour to days of drizzle. My husband always says that the intermittent options on windshield wipers were made for Seattle.
Things started to settle down a little, but we’re in for more tonight. This one includes gale force winds.
Hubby’s at work today and tonight. One of his co-workers is MIA. He went elk hunting last week, and hasn’t made it home.
The news said there were about 30 hunters stranded by the Cowlitz. He’s only one day overdue, so he should be ok. He took extra food. His wife hasn’t heard anything, so he’s probably not one of the three hunters swept away by the flooding.
I’m sure Hubby and his crew will be busy tonight. The Cedar river flows through the Renton Boeing plant, so they may be filling sand bags.
I will think good thought for your hubby’s co-worker and his group, picunurse.
It just started pouring here near Sea-Tac airport about an hour ago. Doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon. We’d just pulled into our parking spot in front of our building when lightning flashed about a mile to the east. Haven’t seen any more since.
My boss was unable to get to his home out near Snoqualmie on Wednesday because of the floods covered all the roads out his way. His house was on high enough ground so at least, he didn’t have to worry about it. He spent the night at his son’s place in the city while his wife stayed home alone, safe and sound. They got some of the roads open the next morning.
TikkiDad just told me that Sunshine Point Campground in Mount Rainier National Park is no longer there. The Nisqually River ate the entire place up. We camped there a couple of times when I was very little. I’m sure TikkiDad worried the whole time about one of us kids falling into that river, which is very fast and strewn the whole way with rocks and boulders. A few years ago, we stopped there on our way to Eastern Washington and took in the sight of the river tearing over those boulders. Even though it was high summer, when the water level was fairly low, it was one of those times you realize how powerful water really is and how defenseless we humans can be against it.
Again, I hope for the best for the elk hunters who have yet to be found.
Tikki, thanks for the positive thoughts. The crew keeps a brave face, but I know they’re worried about their brother-in-arms.
We camped at Sunshine Point Campground when I was a teenager, too. I’m sad that it’s gone.
Winter isn’t even here yet, I hope we all make it through to spring.
