Northwest Flooding Blocks Major Roads

[Dover]

Source: LATimes



Reporting from Orting, Wash. -- Reeling from a deluge of torrential rain and melting snow, much of the Pacific Northwest became a virtual island Thursday as massive flooding and avalanche conditions cut off most major transportation arteries.

Workers struggled to open a possible 400-mile detour around a waterlogged 20-mile section of Interstate 5 near Chehalis in southwestern Washington. Seattle was cut off by road and rail from Portland to the south, and snow blocked most mountain passes to the east.

More than 30,000 residents who had been evacuated tried Thursday to outsmart the forces of nature and creep home. Despite the mayhem, there were few injuries and only isolated flooding of homes.

The region's major airports were operating normally, but officials said it could be days before I-5 reopens because the last of more than 30 rivers running above flood stage across western Washington and Oregon were expected to crest today. Rivers in the eastern part of the state continued to rise.

"We have totally stopped commerce in this state," said Paula Hammond, state Transportation secretary. The I-5 shutdown, she said, was costing Washington $4 million a day...cont'd


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-northwest-flood9-2009jan09,0,2928579.story

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[defendandprotect]

1. Mayan Calendar may be right --- !!!

[OneBlueSky]

2. what'd it say? . . . n/t

[Roland99]

3. click this link......

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212197368.shtml

[defendandprotect]

4. Mayan Calendar ends in 2012 ...

[uppityperson]

5. Seattle news says hoping to get I-5 open today, but it is a wet mess.

Some rivers are cresting at record heights, some just very near records.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008608509_weblewis09m.html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_i_5_closed.html

[foxfeet]

6. At least two of the mountain passes are open now,

so there is some east-west traffic at this point.