Thousands ready to evacuate as flooding hits Pacific Northwest

Residents in the Pacific Northwest of the US and western Canada are bracing for potentially life-threatening floods as an atmospheric river dumps heavy rain on already swollen rivers.

On Thursday, the National Water Center reported major, in some cases record, flooding along the Skagit and Snohomish rivers in the state of Washington that is expected to continue through Friday.

In Canada, major highways to Vancouver have been closed because of flooding, debris and the risk of avalanches.

There are evacuation orders in place for thousands of people in the US and Canada, and authorities have warned more rain is on the way.

In the US, the governor of Washington state, Bob Ferguson, declared a statewide emergency on Wednesday and estimated 100,000 residents could soon face evacuation orders.

The emergency declaration warned that continued rain and possibly snow at mountain elevations would exacerbate flooding conditions. Supply chains and transportation could be severely impacted, the declaration added.

More than 30 highways were closed across the state, with closures also affecting commuters in the Seattle area. Mudslides closed multiple highways, blocking travel east of the city overnight on Wednesday, and stranding commuters.

Traffic came to a standstill along Interstate 90 after a mudslide struck three cars driving on the major freeway that crosses the entire US from Seattle to Boston.

No major injuries have been reported. Authorities have not said whether a death in a car crash on Wednesday morning was due to the foul weather.

A 65-year old driver in eastern Washington was lightly injured when a log “launched from the river” and into the roadway, smashing through his windscreen, according to Washington State Patrol.

The flooding has hit all of western Washington, as well as further south along the Oregon coast.

Skagit County, a major agricultural area north of Seattle, has issued an immediate evacuation order to residents who live on the floodplain.

Some 75,000 people would be evacuated from low-lying areas on Skagit River, the director of the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division, Robert Ezelle, told reporters on Wednesday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Thursday that the Skagit River will cause “severe near-record flooding from Rockport downstream through Sedro Woolley”.

It warned of “deep and swift flood waters” especially in the Cape Horn, Hamilton and Thunderbird regions.

Rescues are taking place around the state, involving rescue swimmers, inflatable boats and helicopters.

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said in an overnight social media post that they had rescued “multiple” people by helicopter after they became trapped in their homes in Sultan, Washington, a community roughly 40 miles (65km) northeast of Seattle.

The sheriff’s office warned residents on Thursday morning that the eastern region of the county is most affected after the Skykomish River crested above 24ft (7m) overnight – just shy of a record.

They said the Snohomish River is also experiencing major flooding and “dancing with records” as water laps against a local flood wall.

King County – which contains the city of Seattle – and Snohomish County officials have warned the road closures could last for several days.

Governor Ferguson warned on Thursday that it would take “weeks” to recover from the storm, and appealed for help from the federal government.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s office said in an video post on Wednesday that a swiftwater team had to rescue three people from an RV park on Orting, a community about 42 miles south of Seattle.

In a post on X on Thursday, Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank said “this flooding is the worst I have seen here” in the county.

Across the border in Canada’s British Columbia, there are evacuation orders in place for the communities of Tulameen and Eastgate, and several other areas.

The City of Abbotsford ordered urgent evacuations for 371 properties at 23:00 local time on Wednesday (07:00 GMT on Thursday).

City officials said the Nooksack River was expected to overflow its banks early on Thursday, and they anticipate flooding, though not as severe as in 2021, when it caused significant damage and five deaths in the province.

Most major highways to the Lower Mainland are now closed, according to the travel-information website Drive BC.

The US-Canada Sumas Border Crossing is also closed to commercial traffic.

The entire region, spanning parts of both the US and Canada, has received torrential rain from an atmospheric river, which is a phenomenon where water evaporates into the air and is carried by the wind and forms long currents that surge through the sky like rivers flow on land.

The heaviest rainfall is expected to subside by Thursday afternoon, but the water will continue to work its way into rivers.

Another storm is expected on Sunday.