Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency Wednesday as flooding spread across Washington and emergency officials prepared to potentially evacuate 100,000 residents living along the Skagit River and other flood-prone areas.
On Wednesday afternoon, the governor and officials with the Washington State Military held a press conference at Camp Murray, near Joint Base Lewis-McChord, to address the rapidly evolving crisis.
Ferguson said the state intends to seek federal funds to cover the costs of emergency work, which he anticipates “will be significant” given the scale of the disaster.
Residents are urged to follow all alerts and instructions from local emergency management departments as conditions continue to deteriorate.
“I just signed a statewide emergency declaration in response to the intense flooding Washington State and Washingtonians are experiencing this week,” Governor Ferguson said. “This, of course, allows us to seek federal funds to cover the cost of this response, which we anticipate will be significant. It also gives us the flexibility we need to respond quickly to keep Washingtonians safe in a fast-moving situation.”
Ferguson said the state is in regular contact with local governments, tribal governments, and the federal government. He had just finished a call with the National Weather Service and has been in communication with FEMA Region 10 and the Army Corps of Engineers.
“At 2 p.m. I have a call with FEMA Region 10 to request an expedited emergency declaration from the federal government. We need the federal government to grant that request. This is critical,” Ferguson said. “If granted, that emergency allows us safety and emergency protective measures and additional federal resources, which will be key for us to address the extremely challenging situation that Washingtonians are facing right now.”
The governor urged all Washingtonians to listen carefully to alerts from county emergency management departments and follow evacuation orders immediately.
“If you receive an evacuation order, please, please follow that order. This is critical for your safety,” Ferguson emphasized. “Look, the impact on Washingtonians is significant now, and it’s going to be significant in the coming days. And that is an understatement.”
Ferguson thanked first responders and others working in the field to help Washingtonians protect their homes, businesses, lives, pets, and loved ones.
“I’ll be visiting impacted communities very soon. I’m working with the general on the right time to do that, but you’ll see me out in communities as soon as that is appropriate,” Ferguson said. “And again, I want to emphasize how important is that we get this declaration from the federal government. The situation is extremely serious. The next few days are going to be very critical.”
Major General Gent Welsh, commander of the Washington National Guard and director of the Washington Military Department, addressed the military’s prepared response.
“Folks, this is a very serious situation. When you see reports of record level flooding, not only just record level flooding, but historic level flooding, it’s time to pay attention,” Welsh said. “There are going to be some serious impacts to communities around this state in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
Welsh announced that by the end of Wednesday night, more than 100 Washington National Guard members would surge to help local communities. By the end of Thursday, more than 300 would be ready, including specialized aviators and rescue personnel.
“Governor, we’re ready to help Washington. This is what we do best. This is the time that the National Guard really steps up and helps our community,” Welsh said.
Dr. Robert Ezelle, Director of the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division, explained the seriousness of the historic flooding and how emergency crews are preparing to evacuate residents from low-lying areas.
Governor Ferguson clarified later in the afternoon that as many as 100,000 Washingtonians face potential evacuation in the Puget Sound region.
“As Governor Ferguson and General Welsh has emphasized, we’re dealing with a very dangerous, complex and rapidly evolving situation,” Ezelle said. “We’re going to be here until this event is over. We’re staffing 24/7 for the next few days to help out.”
Ezelle said the state emergency operations center is working closely with county and tribal partners to respond to requests for assistance. People from across state government and other agencies are lending capabilities to help local partners.
“We anticipate the heavy rain that we’ve been experiencing for the last couple of days to continue and even increase in the afternoon and evening hours tonight, and continue into the night,” Ezelle warned. “This atmospheric river event is far from done, and we’re receiving signals that it’s going to be wet next week as well.”
Multiple rivers from the Canadian border to southwestern Washington are currently at moderate to major flood stage levels, with those levels expected to increase through Thursday and Friday.
“Landslide risks are elevated statewide and will continue to be that way because of the saturated soils,” Ezelle said. “And then we’re expecting a number of rivers to reach or exceed record flood levels. Chief of these is the Skagit River.”
The 1990 record on the Skagit River is projected to be exceeded by approximately four feet upriver, and in the Mount Vernon and Arlington area by at least a foot.
“What that means, and what we’re hearing from the county, is they’re prepared to evacuate 75,000 people living in the low-lying areas,” Ezelle said. “They’ve already put out alerting orders to evacuate. And we could anticipate ‘Go Now’ orders coming as early as this evening.”
Officials anticipate levees not just on the Skagit but on many other rivers being overtopped. Reports indicate the flood wall in Mount Vernon could be overtopped.
“But it’s not just the Skagit River that we’re concerned about. We’re seeing significant impacts along the Cowlitz River,” Ezelle said. “Highway 12 is underwater in a number of areas. The town of Randall is currently cut off. We see parts of Packwood cut off. And we’re seeing that situation on a number of rivers across the state and even on the east side of the Cascades.”
In Pierce County, just east of Camp Murray, “Go Now” orders are already being issued for areas in Orting, demonstrating that the flooding situation extends beyond a couple of river valleys to encompass much of western Washington.
“Our local governments are fully engaged. We have more than a dozen local emergency operation centers activated. Many counties have issued disaster declarations. And we’re seeing sheltering operations in a number of the hardest hit counties,” Ezelle said.
He echoed pleas from Ferguson and Welsh to follow evacuation orders, avoid driving into high water, and stay aware of the situation to protect families.
The Washington State Department of Transportation has crews out in full force dealing with water over roadway issues. WSDOT is poised to reopen roads when safe to do so, with safety being the top priority.
Travelers are encouraged to use the WSDOT app and website for real-time travel information and to plan ahead for any trips in affected areas.
Ferguson was asked about concerns regarding federal funding, given that Washington was denied federal assistance for last year’s bomb cyclone.
“Obviously, I’m acutely aware of the denial before, and I shared my thoughts about that in the past,” Ferguson said. “What I will say right now is that lives will be at stake in the coming days, and we need the federal government to do what’s entirely appropriate here, which is to declare an emergency that taps into the resources and the assistance from the federal government that literally can help us save lives and help individuals save their homes and their property and their livestock.”
Ferguson noted that the Skagit River flooding is expected to exceed 100 years of recorded flooding by multiple feet, making this a very serious situation.
When asked if he would describe this weather system as “life-threatening,” Ferguson responded affirmatively.
“I think any time you have literally tens of thousands of folks who may be facing evacuation orders, yes, by definition, that becomes a life-threatening situation,” Ferguson said. “Once again, it is critical that folks listen carefully to those orders. And if they receive an evacuation order, they need to put their safety first.”
Ferguson explained that he declared a statewide emergency rather than a regional one because the flooding impacts people across the state, not just Skagit County or Lewis County.
“It’s a statewide problem that we have, and it’s a very fluid problem that we have,” Ferguson said. “So we’re very mindful of whether it’s businesses, homes, lives, livestock. The impacts are real for many Washingtonians and businesses. That’s why we’re all working so hard.”
