Live: WA reeling after flooding as Skagit, Snohomish rivers hit record levels

At about 2 a.m. Thursday, Mike Khazak and Sarah Hansen’s home in Deming on the Nooksack River began to break apart.

First, a huge tree crashed down next to their house, right behind the couple’s bedroom window, waking up Hansen, she said. She and her boyfriend then got out of the house with their two dogs, Ollie and Rudy, to move their cars away from the property. That’s when they saw the water was hitting the side and front of their house.

“It was very fast,” said Hansen, 52.

They managed to retrieve a few items from the house. But at about 7 a.m., Hansen said, their home “just broke free and went in the river.”

A video taken by Hansen shows the house being carried away. The water kept coming after that. The water reached the land underneath the couple’s garage and their small barn, where their six pet goats lived.

After the couple saved the goats, Hansen still felt “beyond” horrified. “I was mostly just sitting in shock, and I did a lot of crying,” Hansen said. “Just feeling really sick. Just sick about it.”

Hansen and Khazak are staying in a hotel in Bellingham with their two dogs. The Whatcom Humane Society, where Hansen works as a veterinarian assistant, is watching their six goats. Emily Treadaway, a family friend, started a GoFundMe for the couple that had raised over $41,000 as of Friday evening.

A mountain of earth has buried a stretch of OR 229 in rural Lincoln County, transportation officials said Friday. 

The state highway, which follows the bends of the Siletz River, is closed between milepost 14 and milepost 15 for an indefinite — and likely long lasting — closure. 

“It is not known whether the closure will last days, weeks, months or longer,” Oregon Department of Transportation spokesperson Mindy McCartt said. “This will be a long-term closure.”

Read the full story here.

The sun set Thursday over the soggy and worried people of Western Washington while the fast-running Skagit River, full of sediment and debris, swelled.

More than 78,000 people throughout the flood plain, including the low-lying communities of Mount Vernon and Burlington, had been told to evacuate. Some left for high ground, calling on friends and family. Others struck out for a Red Cross shelter. Some took their chances and hunkered down. 

Everybody went to sleep wondering whether their world would be the same when they awoke.

Read the full story here.

Much of Western Washington is now considered at high risk for landslides after days of near-constant rainfall.

In the past 72 hours alone, more than 6 inches of rain fell in Marblemount, Skagit County, and Snoqualmie Falls. Over 8 inches fell in Auburn and Stampede Pass near Interstate 90. The Seattle area has seen over 4 inches accumulate in the last week. 

The National Weather Service warns that, amid record flooding and as much as 12 inches of rainfall in some places, the deeply saturated earth is poised to create additional hazards.

Read the full story here.

Some immigrants and farmworkers have been navigating extra challenges this week amid historic flooding in Western Washington, advocates said.

In a heavily immigrant neighborhood by a Snohomish County river where an evacuation notice was issued, some residents expressed uncertainty about moving to an emergency shelter, said Van Dinh-Kuno, executive director of Everett-based Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest.

Most residents were Spanish speakers, complicating their access to information, and some may have been concerned about immigration enforcement at the shelter, said Dinh-Kuno, who visited the neighborhood Tuesday night with Spanish-speaking employees and county staff.

“My agency and the county reassured them” there shouldn’t be immigration enforcement at the shelter, while stressing the need to evacuate, she said.

Read the full story here.

As Ryan Wittig waded two blocks toward his home Friday morning, he expected the worst. Three feet of flooding inside. Belongings ruined.

The neighbor to his left saw more than 3 feet of flooding, the neighbor to his right a little less. He thought he’d be right in the middle.

“But it was like there was a hedge of protection,” Wittig said.

When he opened the front door Friday afternoon, he saw only a foot of water damage. All the furniture but his refrigerator were in the same spot as when he left.

Wittig bet he could have the family back inside in three to six months. They’ll stay in a hotel one town over until Tuesday. Where they’ll stay after that is a problem for another day.

Wendy Gonzalez watched in fear as floodwaters climbed up the sides of her home in Sumas Wednesday night.

She’d been through this before during the flood in 2021 when water poured in through her windows. But this time, she was on higher ground.

She was the only resident that could be seen Friday among blocks of inundated homes. The rest had evacuated.

Gonzalez, 64, and her family lifted their home on a concrete frame about five feet above the ground with grant money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a local aid organization, she said.

They stayed in a first floor apartment nearby during construction and moved back into the lifted home when construction was near complete, just one day before their neighborhood flooded again.

The water still got a foot from her doorstep.

“Right now, I’m thinking of moving,” she said. “In a couple of weeks, I might change my mind.”

Holden Village, a Christian retreat center only accessible by boat or foot, is closing and all residents will be evacuated Saturday by helicopter. An email asking the surrounding communities for short- and long-term housing help said the 53 staff members living at the Lutheran-affiliated village are safe but landslides have made vehicle access to the boat dock impossible.

The closure is expected to last until summer 2026, according to a retreat email, because of risk of more landslides and possible avalanches.

“Spiritually, practically, and emotionally, this is a tender moment for our community, and we are stepping forward to ask for support,” said the message.

To volunteer to house a resident of the village, fill out this form.

Washington’s National Guard commander says the thousands of people forced to evacuate their homes due to the flooding shouldn’t expect to be able to go back any time soon.

“It’s going to be days, folks,” said Maj. Gen. Gent Welsh at a news conference in Tukwila on Friday with Gov. Bob Ferguson and other officials.

“If you look at the conditions that exist out there that put people out of their homes, it’s going to be days, in some case weeks, before those rivers are at a level that it’s comfortable and safe for everybody to get back in there,” Welsh said.

Welsh said people who have been displaced “have my deepest sympathies and empathy going into this holiday season. But this is a long haul.”

Roads remain underwater, or washed out completely, as crews work to get Washington’s transportation system back in order following a week of torrential rain and swollen rivers.

Even with rivers cresting throughout Friday, travelers and commuters mostly waited in vain for road closures to be lifted. That said, the region’s transit agencies largely maintained bus and train schedules throughout the monstrous weather event.

It will take some time to assess the damage, even more to repair it, and officials urge patience and caution. With that in mind, here is a partial list of the damage to and perseverance of the region’s roads, bridges and transit systems.

Read the full story here.

James Richardson was one of many across Western Washington who had to abandon his vehicle after trying to drive through floodwater.

Coming back from his logging job on Thursday, Richardson drove through a watery roadway three blocks from his home in Sumas, but his 1987 Toyota EFI pickup, loaded with over 400,000 miles, couldn’t take it, and died.

Luckily, he was towing a boat. Richardson climbed into the boat, cut it free from its hitch and steered the boat home. He pulled it up to the deck of his home, which he’d just lifted several feet off the ground after the last flood in 2021.

He waded up to the grey pickup Friday afternoon and tried to start it up again. The truck still had the boat trailer attached.

No luck this time. It groaned with the turn of his key. Richardson just laughed, saying he’d have to “tear her apart and but her back together again,” and walked home.

The Burlington Police Department posted on Facebook that some residents can return briefly to check on their property. The evacuation order is still in place, and some areas are still inaccessible. People who choose to return should use caution and know conditions can change quickly, the department said. To see which areas residents can return to briefly, check the department’s Facebook page.

Floods near Vancouver, B.C., caused by torrential rain have closed major highways, some hit by landslides, and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate as weather experts warned more rain was imminent.

In Canada, the urban areas around Vancouver and the more sparsely populated cities to the east, including Hope and Chilliwack in the rural Fraser Valley, have been hit hardest by floods.

Read the full story here.

As part of its disaster relief program, Amazon on Friday said it’s working with the American Red Cross and Save the Children to donate and deliver supplies to shelters in Western Washington.

Using the same logistics network that powers its e-commerce business, Amazon’s disaster relief program sends out hygiene kits, comfort items for kids and medical devices.

For floods specifically, the company has muck-and-gut kits to prevent mold from spreading in homes. The kits usually contain buckets, rubber gloves, trash bags, shovels, brooms, mops, coveralls, goggles and respirator masks.

At least four rivers reached record levels this week as an atmospheric river swept through Western Washington, causing floods, landslides and other devastation.

Read the full story here.

President Donald Trump has granted Washington’s request for an emergency declaration in response to this week’s devastating flooding, according to Gov. Bob Ferguson.

The FEMA designation covers damage from storms, wind, flooding and landslides from Dec. 9 onward. It allows FEMA to provide equipment and federal assistance, covering 75% of the cost under its public assistance program.

Read the full story here.

GoFundMe has compiled more than a dozen fundraisers for people seeking help after historic flooding and heavy rains have walloped Western Washington.

These campaigns ask for funds to help residents across the region, including those in Sultan, Burlington, Mount Vernon, Kent, Everson and Leavenworth, among other areas. Many ask for money to help families find temporary housing, repair damaged homes and acquire basic essentials. The fundraisers had garnered amounts between $100 and $32,000 as of 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Residents of Deming started a GoFundMe for two neighbors when floodwaters completely swept away their house this week. The fundraiser looks to raise $100,000 and has so far garnered about $32,000 from around 400 donations. GoFundMe also pointed potential donors to the American Red Cross, which is opening emergency shelters in the state.

Here’s how to donate to these fundraisers and how else to help people affected by Western Washington floods.

Washington’s lift-serviced ski season is back on hiatus with Mission Ridge, the only ski resort in the state to have opened so far, changing course and closing this weekend in the wake of flood and wind damage in Chelan County.

Warm, wet weather has done the mountains no favors, with bare ground visible on webcams at the base areas of The Summit at Snoqualmie and White Pass. Even if they had sufficient snow, Crystal Mountain Resort, Mt. Baker Ski Area and Stevens Pass are inaccessible due to road closures on Highways 410, 542 and 2, respectively.

Read the full story here.

The past few days have posed logistical challenges for livestock owners in flood-prone areas: Many have leaned on friends and the community for space in their barns and pastures. Others have volunteered to help trailer animals to safer ground, shuttling back and forth.

Read more about rescue efforts.

About 150 personnel from California have been deployed to assist with ongoing flood mitigation efforts in Washington state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said in a release Thursday.

The response team deployed by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services includes two rescue boats from the Marin County Fire Department. Cal OES also partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deploy three Urban Search and Rescue Task Force teams and eight Incident Support Team personnel.

Search and rescue members were deployed from five California fire departments including the Los Angeles City Fire Department, Menlo Park Fire Protection District, Orange County Fire Department, Riverside City Fire Department and ​San Diego City Fire Department.

Newsom’s office said the deployment has “minimal impact” on emergency response capabilities in California.

Newsom said the move “reflects our shared commitment to protect lives, strengthen regional resilience, and stand with states that need our help.”

Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a social media post Friday he was “grateful” for the support from Newsom and response teams during a “critical moment” for Washington.

Highway 203 is closed from Carnation Farm Road and Lake Joy Road near Duvall and Northeast Cherry Valley Road and Cherry Valley Road near Monroe, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Click here for the latest traffic closures.

The severe rainfall lashing Western Washington this week could mean more landslides, the National Weather Service of Seattle announced Friday.

The increased rainfall has soaked soil “to very high levels” across the region, which could lead to unstable ground, the weather service wrote.

“We’re saying that there’s an elevated risk for the potential for landslides,” meteorologist Jeff Michalski said.

Several landslides have already occurred, the weather service said. Part of eastbound Interstate 90 closed Wednesday afternoon after a slide, and part of Highway 12 in Grays Harbor County closed Friday due to a slide.

Certain areas are susceptible to landslides during heavy rains, the weather service said, including steep coastal bluffs, recently burned areas and other steep hillsides.

Mold can grow within 24 to 48 hours after a flood, King County warns.

Open doors and windows before working and avoid touching floodwater, the King County Office of Emergency Management advises. Gloves, N95 masks, goggles and other protective gear should be worn while cleaning up flood damage.

Anything wet from floodwater that can’t be cleaned and dried out should be discarded after photos are taken for insurance claims.

Covering mold with paint will not prevent mold from growing.

Here are more tips for mold cleanup from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

King County residents and businesses should fill out the following surveys to report flood damage.

The remote town of Stehekin, on the north shore of Lake Chelan, is reeling after devastating floodwaters rushed down the fire-scarred mountainsides surrounding it, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said.

Read more.

Mario Rincon only slept two hours Thursday night, worrying that his home in Burlington had flooded.

The worst had happened by the time he checked his cameras early Friday morning. Three feet of water inundated the bottom level of his home, pouring into his garage, office and a family room he’d almost finished building.

He stood outside with his 2-year-old son Daniel in his arms. The boy, unaware of the grim situation, kept asking to swim. Rincon would soon put on waders himself to see the damage inside.

“It’s frustrating. We’re feeling helpless watching the water and not being able to do anything,” Rincon said. He stayed at a casino hotel with his family the night before. “It’s not something I want anyone to experience.”

But maybe the timing was all for a reason, Rincon said. His wife was laid up at the casino hotel on Friday, recovering from a C-section just over a week ago. She was originally scheduled for the operation on Monday.

Along the Snohomish and Skykomish Rivers, many of the 60 rescues made this week have involved people driving into flooded areas, according to the Snohomish County Emergency Operations Center.

As for where that’s happening, there are a few hot spots. Three Rivers Mobile Home park, in the city of Snohomish, has had a few rescues, along with an area near Old Snohomish Monroe Road.

In Monroe, a few people were rescued along Tualco Loop Road, which connects to Highway 203. South of the Skykomish River, in Sultan, some rescues happened on Mann Road. Both the mobile home park and Tualco Loop Road were designated evacuation zones.

“We want people stay away from flooded areas,” said Christie Veley, a spokesperson for the agency.

Rescues in Snohomish County have slowed since Thursday, said Christie Veley, a spokesperson for the county’s emergency operations center. Authorities there only helped with one rescue overnight, and it was in King County.

Since Wednesday, the agency estimates 60 people and 15 pets were rescued in areas near the Snohomish, Stillaguamish and Skykomish rivers.

The Snohomish River at Snohomish crested at a record-breaking 34.15 feet on Thursday. As of 10 a.m. Friday, it has dropped a little less than a foot. By Saturday morning, it is projected to drop into the minor flood stage, closer to 20 feet.

Near Monroe, the flood is still major along the same river. It crested at 24.5 feet on Wednesday and this morning, it had dropped to 21 feet. Projections are similar in that area; waters should recede dramatically Friday and Saturday.

Severe flooding is expected from Mount Vernon through Everett and into the Monroe area.

In Burlington, Monica Mendez, 40, woke up to a call from her 17-year-old son around 4 a.m. Friday saying, “Hey! There’s water inside!”

Her family and many others around her decided to stay despite evacuations. Most of the area’s homes avoided damage as of Friday morning, but some like Mendez who live alongside Gages Slough, which is connected to Skagit River, weren’t as lucky.

When water started pouring into the basement level of her home, Mendez and her family sprung into action. She and her son tried sealing the doors with towels and whatever they could find but quickly realized the water was coming in too hard and fast to stop.

“It was so hard because it was so dark still in the morning, so you cannot see the level of the water,” Mendez said.

Read more.

In Sumas, Whatcom County, four people were trapped in their attic as the water rose 8 to 10 feet outside their home. With firefighters and U.S. Border Patrol unable to reach them, the U.S. Coast Guard deployed rescue helicopters from air stations Port Angeles and Astoria, Oregon.

No one was injured, according to the Coast Guard.

Read more.

Burlington is rolling back some of its evacuation order from earlier Friday morning.

At 6 a.m., the city said that all residents should evacuate immediately after Gages Slough, connected to the Skagit River, started flooding into homes. The Skagit River reached record levels in Mount Vernon overnight.

At 9:30 a.m., the city updated residents and said anyone whose home or business was west of the railroad tracks that run north-south through Burlington was able to return.

President Donald Trump has granted Washington’s request for an emergency declaration in response to this week’s devastating flooding, according to Gov. Bob Ferguson.

The governor said he received a phone call from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem informing him of the president’s decision and that the state has also received written confirmation of the declaration.

“I expressed my thanks to Secretary Noem on behalf of the people of the state of Washington during this extremely challenging time,” Ferguson said in a news release.

The decision authorizes Federal Emergency Management Agency aid for the destructive flooding, which has spurred widespread evacuations.

The declaration was authorized for Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Whatcom and Yakima counties, as well as the Samish Indian Nation and other tribal nations in the affected areas, according to a copy of the order provided by the governor’s office.

Ferguson and other officials will hold a news conference on the flood response at 2 p.m. in Tukwila.

Read more.

Dennis Auckland, 62, looked out his window at an expanse of floodwater Friday morning.

It swallowed the backyard of his Snohomish apartment complex and stopped just below his elevated first-floor unit. Pumpkins from a nearby farm floated in a raft among half-submerged trees.

When the waters rose the night before, Auckland worried. He and his caretaker packed essentials into a box, preparing to leave. Photos. Documents. Blankets. A chess set.

But he ultimately decided to wait it out with his neighbor Darla Halverson.

“I just trust in God that it’s not going to happen,” Halverson said of the night before. “I’m not going to panic.”

By Friday morning, most of the cars in their lot were gone. One street over, a dozen onlookers took photos of five homes on Lincoln Avenue that were submerged. A family had been rescued there Thursday night. 

Highways 202 and part of 203 have reopened in Fall City Friday morning, WSDOT announced.

In East King County, both directions of Highway 202 were closed from Chief Kanim Middle School to Bendigo Boulevard in and around Snoqualmie. The highway has reopened, WSDOT posted on X shortly before 10:20 a.m. Friday.

Highway 203 remains blocked from Northeast Cherry Valley Road to Cherry Valley Road north of Duvall and at Carnation Form Road north of Carnation.

Click here for the latest traffic closures.

Mount Vernon’s emergency floodwall held fast Thursday night and into Friday morning as the rushing and debris-filled Skagit River swelled to record levels, forcing the evacuation of thousands throughout the city’s low-lying areas.

Read more.

According to a news release from Skagit County officials, displaced residents can seek shelter in the following places.

Read more.

The evacuation notice for 116th Street East between 151st Avenue Court East and Dan & Bill’s RV Park in the city of Orting has been lifted as of 8 a.m. Friday.

Hamilton Sivula and Eric Bruchman filled sandbags Thursday morning in West Richland in the face of rising floodwaters on the Yakima River.

“I saw the water line this morning, and I got pretty scared,” Sivula said as he leaned on the shovel for a moment while other family members cinched up the bags at the Hamilton Road fire station.

They filled 110 bags Wednesday at a West Richland fire station and planned to fill 110 more to build a 65-foot-long wall, about four bags high.

Residents along the lower Yakima River between Benton City and Richland watched the rising water with trepidation.

Read the full story here.

As the Skagit River blows past record heights, the town of Newhalem, owned and operated by Seattle City Light, is currently cut off in both directions due to flooding on Highway 20.

The road closure, one piece of the fallout from a punishing atmospheric river that’s overwhelmed scores of rivers in Western Washington, comes as the Army Corps of Engineers has taken over operations at nearby Ross Dam, which provides electricity to Seattle residents.

Newhalem is a company town adjacent to three Seattle-owned dams on the nearby Skagit River: the Ross, Diablo and Gorge lake dams. All three generate power for Seattle.

Read the full story here.

Evacuation orders for the Rainier Manor Mobile Home Park, Rivergrove and the 29th Street neighborhoods in Sumner have been lifted, the city wrote on X Friday morning.

Leavenworth’s Village of Lights Christmastown display in Front Street Park and Christmastown events at the Gazebo will not be illuminated this weekend due to a power outage and recovery efforts, the city wrote in a news release.

Power outages were reported for much of Chelan County, including all of Leavenworth. The city also said it has “extensive damage” throughout its residential neighborhoods, including downed trees and power lines. Multiple road closures also remain, the city said.

“Remember, if you can’t make it in December, we leave the festive light display on all the way through February!,” the city said in the release.

Read more.

The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe is cautioning the public against visiting Snoqualmie Falls, which is roaring as the Snoqualmie River floods.

The river experienced major flooding — the highest level — through much of Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Read the full story here.

As up to 100,000 residents face evacuations across Western Washington, aid groups said the best way to help those affected by flooding is through monetary donations.

Groups like the American Red Cross have volunteers, both from within Washington and out-of-state, opening emergency shelters and looking for more shelter sites. The organization said donations can help sustain ongoing efforts and fund more recovery services.

Local aid groups helping those affected by flooding need money and volunteers, but many said they may not know exactly what help they’ll need on the ground until after the flooding subsides.

Read the full story here.

Skagit County officials were urging nearly 10,000 Burlington residents to evacuate their homes early Friday as a slough from the Skagit River started flooding homes.

Read more.

Many highways and local roads remained shut Friday morning throughout Western Washington because of flooding and mudslides. Read more.

Click on the following links to see maps of the latest road closures:

In the coming days, thousands of residents will begin to return to water-damaged homes after about 100,000 Washingtonians were ordered to evacuate from the Skagit Valley and other areas flooded from cresting rivers.

All residents living within the 100-year floodplain of the Skagit Valley were ordered to leave, as the Snohomish and Skagit rivers reached historic levels. Dozens of people have been rescued from rising floodwaters, and the National Weather Service expects risk to life and property to be “catastrophic.”

As Washingtonians return to their businesses, homes, and fields, there are several safety precautions to take in responding to damage, cleaning your home and filing claims.

Read the full story here.

As they reached shallows low enough to disembark, Sue and Bill Elliott stepped out of a yellow canoe with relief. They’d managed to save their three dogs. But they carried no possessions as they reached dry land.

Elliott Road, which runs near their trailer home in Snohomish County, disappeared under murky waters behind them.

“It hasn’t been like this since 1990,” said Sue Elliott, whose trailer flooded when the Snohomish River swelled to unprecedented heights as an atmospheric river drenched Western Washington this week. She shook the hand of Ryan Lundquist, Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue’s operations chief, one of several agency personnel who rescued 26 people, including the Elliotts, Thursday morning. 

Read the full story here.

Cresting floodwaters of the Skagit River were moving steadily downstream toward the largest cities in the county as local, state and federal officials warned of potentially grave and catastrophic danger.

Some 78,000 people live within the Skagit’s flood plain, and all were told to get out before it’s too late.

In Mount Vernon, police and fire crews went from door to door Thursday, warning of the deluge that’s headed their way. Flood walls and levees will be put to the test like never before, and Gov. Bob Ferguson said he’s trying to persuade the federal government to listen to its own forecasters.

Read the full story here.

Tens of thousands of people evacuated their homes as rivers throughout the Puget Sound region rose to historic levels Thursday, and scores more Washingtonians needed rescue or entire communities were cut off.

The National Weather Service warned of catastrophic, life-threatening flooding continuing Friday, but residents will get a bit of a reprieve from heavy rain. Rainfall totals are forecast for far less than earlier this week — the Seattle area saw 1 to 4 inches of rain, and some spots in the Puget Sound region had more than a foot over the past three days — but that won’t alleviate the flooding.

“The rain is going to be lessened, but everything is going to be flowing downstream from what’s fallen over the past couple of days,” weather service meteorologist Johnny Burg said.

Read the full story here.