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South Sound faces deluge

Meteorologist: 'We're looking at one of the most significant flood events of this century.'

By John Dodge | The Olympian • Published January 08, 2009

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Thurston County emergency management officials urged residents in flood-prone areas to evacuate as near-record flooding loomed on the Chehalis, Deschutes and Skookumchuck rivers, shelters opened and a submerged section of Interstate 5 closed for the second time in 14 months.

"We're looking at one of the most significant flood events of this century," said Ted Buehner, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.

South Sound rivers began reaching flood stage Wednesday night after a whopper of a Western Washington rainstorm that began Tuesday night and wasn't expected to end until today.

Authorities went door-to-door or called several hundred river valley residents Wednesday, warning them of potential overnight flood danger that likely would carry into the day.

'Don't wait for the water'

"If you live in areas that have seen floodwaters before, don't wait for the water — leave now," county emergency management spokesman Keith Eisner said.

Several emergency shelters opened Wednesday night, including the LDS Church at 18501 Paulson Road S.W., Rochester; two shelters in Centralia; one in Chehalis; and two elsewhere in Lewis County.

Numerous roads closed Wednesday in South Sound because of landslides and water over the roads, and more than 3 inches of rain fell on soil already saturated by melting snow from the December storms.

An additional 1.27 inches of rain was predicted for Olympia from Wednesday afternoon through this morning.

The rain should subside, leading to drier weather over the weekend, but the flooding on the major rivers and landslide threat will continue after the rain ends, Buehner said.

"It takes a while for all that water to move downstream," he said.

River breakdown

Here's a breakdown of the major South Sound rivers and flood conditions as predicted by the National Weather Service.

• Deschutes River: Minor flooding began on the Deschutes on Wednesday afternoon, and the river was predicted to rise to a near-record 6 feet above flood stage near Rainier early today.