Flooding causes havoc in Pacific North-West

AS many parts of western Washington state in the United States began drying out after a storm that dumped rain for days, waters in some areas continued rising, more people were urged to evacuate, and crews worked to restore power and reopen roads.

Officials in the small city of Sumas, Washington, near the Canadian border, called the flooding devastating and said on Tuesday that an estimated 75% of the homes there had water damage. Hundreds of people were evacuated.

The soaking reminded locals of severe flooding in western Washington in November, 1990, when two people died and there were more than 2,000 evacuations, the officials said. “These families and businesses need our prayers and support as we start the process of clean-up and rebuilding over the next few days,” they said.

Across the border, the body of a woman was recovered from a landslide near the town Lillooet, British Columbia, that was triggered by record rainfall. Royal Canadian Mounted Police said at least two other people were reported missing.

Fast-rising water levels overwhelmed rescuers in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, where 1,100 homes were evacuated. Residents joined thousands of others in the province who were forced from their homes by floods or landslides, starting on Sunday night.

Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said on Tuesday that impassable roads were creating havoc as authorities tried to get people to evacuation sites. “It breaks my heart to see what’s going on in our city,” he said.

In Washington state, a 59-year-old man from Everson identified by police on Tuesday as Jose Garcia remained missing, after his truck was swept into a flooded field and he had been seen clinging to a tree.

Crews partially reopened the US West Coast’s main north-south road, Interstate 5, near Bellingham, Washington, following its complete closure overnight because of mudslide debris. The northbound lanes remained closed on Tuesday evening as crews continued working.

Additionally, six railroad cars that had been sitting on tracks in a rail yard in Sumas derailed in the flooding on Tuesday, said Lena Kent, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway’s general director of public affairs. Canada’s two largest railways expect it will take several days to clear track outages in British Columbia that are hindering the movement of goods to the port in Vancouver.

In the northern Washington city of Ferndale, bystanders near the town’s main street rescued a man who mistakenly drove into floodwaters on Tuesday. The half-dozen people waded into waters up to their chests and pushed the floating car to drier ground.

The rains were caused by an atmospheric river – a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific and into Washington and Oregon.

About 5.57 inches of rain fell at Washington’s Bellingham Airport from Saturday through to Monday. The normal monthly rain total for the city of Bellingham is 5.2 inches for November.