Governor declares statewide emergency,national guard are in reserve, chopper rescues are underway,dozens rescued so far.Record flooding rainfall, high winds and mud and snowslides are causing havoc 12:57 AM PST on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 SEATTLE - Major flooding and high winds that downed trees and knocked out power have left two people dead and closed a major interstate highway in southwest Washington. Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency in response to the brutal winter storm that hit Western Washington, and said "we haven't seen the worst yet." "It hasn't peaked," Gregoire said Monday afternoon. "We are concerned with what Mother Nature has in store for us." While the focus so far has been on western Washington and Oregon, the National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook early Tuesday for central and northeast Oregon as well as south central and southeast Washington, with flood watches being issued in those areas until Tuesday evening. In western Washington, Grays Harbor County sheriff's Detective Ed McGowan confirmed the two deaths. McGowan says one man in Aberdeen died when a tree fell on him as he was trying to clear another downed tree. He says the other person died from an undetermined medical problem after power was lost. The National Weather Service reported 3 to 6 inches of rain fell across much of Western Washington Monday. Meteorologist Chris Burke said the 24-hour rain total for Bremerton was 10.78 inches. Winds gusted to 81 mph in Hoquiam early Monday. Most of the Olympic Peninsula, Kitsap County and southwest Washington were hit particularly hard by the overnight storm. Some 80,000 people lost electric power across Western Washington. Rescue helicopters from the Coast Guard and the Navy were dispatched to rescue people stranded because of heavy flooding, officials said. About 150 people were stranded at some point Monday across the region, Gregoire said, with about half of them reported rescued by early Monday evening. Many of those rescues were conducted by boat. Four hikers stranded by harsh weather also were rescued from the Snoqualmie Pass area, officials said. Road problems Snowslides temporarily closed the major Cascade Mountain passes carrying traffic on Interstate 90 and U.S. 2. Both passes were reopened Monday evening. All lanes of Interstate 5 near Centralia - the main route between Seattle and Portland - were closed because of flooding. When the Chehalis River crests Tuesday, its expected peak of nearly 75 feet would put the surface of I-5 under about 5 feet of water, state Department of Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said. Hammond said the closure could last 36 hours ( more details and detour information). The last time the freeway was shut down completely due to flooding in the area was 1996. It was closed for about four days. Emergency crews were working well after sundown to monitor and rescue people trapped at their homes. Boats were used throughout the day, with GPS-equipped helicopters taking on a bigger role after dark - in some cases plucking people from the roof of a house. Farther east, snowslides temporarily closed the major Cascade Mountain passes carrying traffic on Interstate 90 and U.S. 2. Roads leading into the county's population centers were cut off for most of the day, but one patched-together route from Olympia to Ocean Shores was finally punched through by Monday evening. State of emergency Gregoire declared a statewide emergency Monday in response to the brutal winter storm that flooded rivers, blew down trees and cut off power across Western Washington. "Washingtonians have endured quite the weekend," she said, adding that the danger from floods was likely to not subside until Thursday. Her emergency declaration puts thousands of National Guard troops on standby if local officials need help. Several areas were under evacuation due to rising waters. Numerous roads in Seattle and outlying areas are closed and nearly all of Western Washington rivers are under flood warnings. Read the latest road closures and power outages and school closures . Most of the Olympic Peninsula, Kitsap County and southwest Washington were hit particularly hard by the overnight storm. Flooding had cut off virtually all access to the coastal city of Aberdeen, Gregoire said. Lewis County urged residents in flooded areas to evacuate. Shelters were opened in Chehalis, Boistfort, Winlock, Vader and Centralia. The National Weather Service said warned that record flooding could occur in southwest Washington's Chehalis River basin. High tides near Aberdeen were expected to compound the problem at the river's lower reaches. The Elwha River on the northern Olympic Peninsula also was expected to flood at record levels. Major flooding was predicted on the Tolt and Snoqualmie rivers near Carnation, east of Seattle. The National Weather Service said the heavy rains raised the Skokomish River to its record flood level. Officials urge residents to avoid the Skokomish River Valley and U.S. 101 and State Route 106 near Potlatch in Mason County. Flood warnings also were issued for numerous other rivers, and officials predicted heavy winds would sweep up the Columbia River and into Eastern Washington. Rain-saturated soil also increased the risk of landslides, the weather service said. Rain and gusty winds were forecast for the west side of the state at least through Tuesday. "This has the shapings of a major problem in terms of the number of rivers that are potentially going to flood," Harper said. "The storm amounts are very significant." Interstate 5 near Chehalis was closed because of flooding by early afternoon. Further east, snowslides closed the major Cascade Mountain passes carrying traffic on Interstate 90 and U.S. 2. "I am asking my fellow Washingtonians to take the necessary precautions to protect their homes if they are at risk at all of flooding," Gregoire said. Drivers must avoid all flooded areas, and residents still in their homes must remember to never run electric generators or barbecue grills indoors because of the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning, Gregoire added. The Grays Harbor County Public Utility District reported 33,000 customers without electricity Monday, and most major roads in Grays Harbor and Pacific counties were closed or blocked, including U.S. Highways 12 and 101. Two county electric workers were injured when a tree hit their truck, officials said. A pair of state Transportation Department workers also were taken to hospital after a tree hit their truck near Forks, Secretary Paula Hammond said, but neither was seriously hurt. In the tiny town of Pe Ell, creeks feeding into the Chehalis River looked more like surging rivers. Some homes and businesses were flooded, and although people still had power, residents said roads leading out of town appeared blocked or impassable. "There's nothing. You can't get in or out," homeowner Yvonne Powers said. Powers and her husband were among the residents preparing to ride out the storm by readying an electric generator and storing water in their bathtub. Sink hole at the intersection of Seabeck Highway and Miami Beach Road in Seabeck. The weather service said heavy rain and lowland snow likely would cause the Chehalis River to surge into areas that had never flooded before. Officials expected the river to crest at nearly 75 feet on Tuesday morning at Centralia -- about 10 feet above flood stage for that area. Two Grays Harbor PUD workers trying to restore service were injured, one seriously, in a 40-foot fall after a windblown tree hit a lift truck's bucket Sunday night, sheriff's Deputy David Pimentel said. Both workers were hospitalized, one with head injuries and the other with back injuries. Rescuers used chain saws and dodged falling trees to clear the way for an ambulance to the scene, Sheriff Michael J. Whelan said. "In 30 years of law enforcement, it's as bad as I've ever seen," Whelan said. In Olympia, the rain turned a normally small creek into a roiling, muddy surge of water that tore through a wall at the Ranch House BBQ. Tables and booths were strewn across the street, and a storage shed was pushed about 300 feet away. Mudslides halted north-south Amtrak passenger train service between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, British Columbia
