Washington state declares emergency as fresh flood threat looms

Residents in Western Washington packed up valuables and prepared to flee on Wednesday (December 11) as rising rivers threatened, due to a fresh wave of heavy rain sweeping into a region still reeling from a storm that had triggered rescues and road closures just a day earlier.

These events led to the announcement of a statewide emergency on Wednesday in Washington. Members of the Washington National Guard are expected to be deployed in the affected regions to speed up rescue operations.

Another storm system is expected to bring more rain starting Sunday (December 14) making the situation pretty unsettled going upto the holidays.

Warning to residents

In the Pacific Northwest, an atmospheric river was swelling rivers toward record levels, with major flooding expected in some areas including the Skagit River, in a major agricultural valley north of Seattle. Dozens of vehicles were backed up at a sandbag-filling station in the town of Mount Vernon as authorities warned all residents who live within the river's floodplain to be ready to evacuate.

"We're preparing for what increasingly appears to be a worst-case scenario here," Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan said and added, "With a flood of the magnitude that's predicted here in the next couple of days, I'm concerned about all of our buildings in the city in the floodplain".

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In the Mount Rainier foothills, southeast of Seattle, Pierce County sheriff's deputies rescued people at an RV park in Orting, including one man in a Santa hat waded through waist-deep water. Part of the town was ordered to evacuate due to extremely high levels in the Puyallup River and concerns about its upstream levees.

Statewide emergency

Washington Gov Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency Wednesday and said "Lives will be at stake in the coming days". Meanwhile, the adjutant general of the Washington National Guard, Gent Welsh, warned that, "It's time to pay attention".

Hundreds of Washington National Guard members will be sent to help communities, Welsh said.

I just signed a statewide emergency declaration in response to the intense flooding in our state this week.

This allows us to seek federal funds to cover the cost of this response, which we anticipate will be significant, and also gives us the flexibility we need to respond… pic.twitter.com/fIvBI9HZL6

— Governor Bob Ferguson (@GovBobFerguson) December 10, 2025

Rising river levels

The Skagit River is expected to crest at roughly 47 feet (14.3 metres) in the mountain town of Concrete early Thursday, and about 41 feet (12 metres) in Mount Vernon early Friday morning.

Skagit County officials said the forecasts for the next two days were “record-setting by several feet.”

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Mount Vernon, the largest in the county with some 35,000 residents, completed a wall in 2018 to protect the downtown from flooding. But the city, parts of which are in the floodplain, including commercial areas, is on high alert.

Weather forecast

Harrison Rademacher, a meteorologist with the weather service in Seattle, described the atmospheric river soaking the region as "a jet stream of moisture" stretching across the Pacific Ocean "with the nozzle pushing right along the coast of Oregon and Washington."

Authorities in Washington have knocked on doors to warn residents of imminent flooding in certain neighbourhoods, and evacuated a mobile home park along the Snohomish River. The city of Snohomish issued an emergency proclamation, while workers in Auburn, south of Seattle, installed temporary flood control barriers along the White River.

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Along Interstate 5 between Seattle and Portland, firefighters on Tuesday rescued people who tried to drive on flooded roads, including a semi-truck driver, said Malachi Simper, spokesperson for Lewis County Fire Protection District 5.

Authorities rescued a family of six from their home in Chehalis, he said, where the road was covered by about 4 feet of water. No one was injured. Another storm system is expected to bring more rain starting Sunday, Rademacher said, adding that "the pattern looks pretty unsettled going up to the holidays".

(With agency inputs)