Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide emergency as the Pacific Northwest is battered by relentless flooding from an atmospheric river. He urged residents to heed evacuation orders as the state braces for more rain and waits to see whether the federal government will approve a request for disaster relief, KING5 reports. Residents prepared to flee western parts of the state as rivers rose Wednesday, the AP reports.
- "I have declared a statewide emergency, and I will be requesting an expedited emergency declaration from the federal government today," Ferguson said in a statement. "We need the federal government to grant that request. This situation is extremely serious. Lives will be at stake in the coming days and we need the federal government to do what's entirely appropriate here, which is declare an emergency."
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell also urged people to heed emergency alerts, the Seattle Times reports. "We are working to get federal assistance immediately available to respond to the potential once-in-a-lifetime flooding in the State of Washington, especially around the Puget Sound, north Cascades, and low-lying areas east of the mountains," she said. Flood warnings and watches are in place across the region, with authorities warning that floodwaters could take days to recede, potentially keeping roads closed for an extended period.
The National Weather Service warned that "catastrophic flooding impacts" are possible along the Skagit and Snohomish rivers. The Skagit River is expected to crest around 47 feet early Thursday in Concrete, a small mountain town, and around 41 feet early Friday in Mount Vernon, a city of around 35,000 people, breaking records by several feet, the AP reports. "We're preparing for what increasingly appears to be a worst-case scenario here," said Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
