A state of emergency has been declared, and tens of thousands of people have been ordered to leave their homes in western Washington after historic rain left rivers at record levels across the state.
Skagit County has ordered everyone in the Skagit River 100-year floodplain to evacuate to higher ground, as authorities have forecast 18 major floods and 15 moderate floods.
More than 5 million people were under flood alerts Thursday morning, including portions of Montana and a small part of Idaho. Between 10 and 18 inches of rain have fallen over the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges in the last 72 hours.
Gov. Bob Ferguson said late Wednesday, “catastrophic flooding is likely,” and, in a statement on social media, said 100,000 people could face evacuation orders. He urged people to heed the authorities’ orders and listen to official advice.
