Body of flood victim recovered after storm pounds Oregon and Washington state

SEATTLE — Emergency workers have recovered the body of a man in southwest Washington state whose vehicle was swept away by flooding unleashed by storms that have deluged the Pacific Northwest with rain and snow and closed key roadways across the state.

The Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office said 72-year-old Delbert Pratt was found dead in his vehicle not far from his home in Cosmopolis. Pratt had been missing since Friday morning, when he left his home to move his car to higher ground.

Undersheriff Brad Johansson said investigators believe Pratt’s vehicle was swept off his driveway and down a steep bank by the strong moving floodwaters and quickly submerged in the deep water.

While drier weather was expected through the weekend, dozens of flood warnings remained in effect in Washington and Oregon on Saturday, and many areas were also dealing with the risk of landslides and avalanches.

Some major roads connecting the Seattle area to the rest of the country remained closed on Saturday, including I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass, Stevens Pass on U.S. 2, White Pass on U.S. 12 and Blewett Pass on U.S. 97.

Floodwaters receded enough on Friday to allow parts of Interstate 5, the major north-south interstate on the West Coast, to reopen in Lewis County.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued an emergency proclamation on Friday because of severe winter storms going back to Dec. 17. State agencies and local jurisdictions are co-ordinating resources to address damaged property and infrastructure, assess damage caused by the storms and implement repairs, he said.

Washington State University cancelled classes Monday and Tuesday to allow students time to return to Pullman in Eastern Washington following the severe winter weather, officials said on the university’s website.

Near Stevens Pass northeast of Seattle, the city of Leavenworth declared a state of emergency and asked for National Guard help after a metre of snow fell in 24 hours.

Travellers and truck drivers left stranded by the road closures were filling parking lots at truck stops and travel plazas near Ellensburg, the Seattle Times reported. Semitruck driver Jasbir Mattu and son Hamneet Mattu told the newspaper on Friday that they were hopeful Snoqualmie Pass would open today, and that they were sheltering in their sleeper cab for now. Other drivers walked along the road to nearby businesses for food and supplies.

In Seattle’s Magnolia neighbourhood on Friday, firefighters responded to a home that slid down a hillside. A man trapped in the home’s basement was extricated, according to the Seattle Fire Department. A woman escaped on her own while one dog died and another is missing, firefighters said.

Southwest Washington experienced its worst flooding in a decade and some rivers crested at more than 5.5 metres late Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

A flood warning was in effect for the northern Oregon coast.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Cars prepare to turn around as the rising Chehalis River floods a road near Centralia, Washington, on Friday. Snow and rain forced the closure of parts of Washington state’s two major highways — Interstate 90 and Interstate 5 — as well as roads throughout western Washington and Oregon.