Posted on 12/03/2007 5:27:34 PM PST by Squidpup
Interstate 5 has closed in the Chehalis/Centralia area because of flooding, Washington Department of Transportation officials said.
Transportation officials in Oregon and Washington warn that motorists will not be able to travel I-5 between Portland and Seattle tonight because of the closure, which is from mileposts 68 to 88.
Also in southwest Washington, two people died after heavy flooding and high winds downed trees and knocked out power, a Grays Harbor County sheriff's officer said.
Sheriff's detective Ed McGowan, the local incident commander for the storm, says two people have been confirmed dead.
McGowan says one man died when a tree fell on him as he was trying to clear another downed tree; the other person died from an undetermined medical problem after power was lost.
About 90 percent of Grays Harbor County is without electricity, and virtually all roads leading into the coastal city of Aberdeen are cut off.
No further details were immediately released about the deaths, the first after two days of triple-digit wind speeds and driving rain in Washington and Oregon.
In Oregon, coast residents today faced potential flooding of coastal rivers that could match or exceed the devastating February 1996 floods, the National Weather Service said.
Weather service hydrologists on Monday predicted severe flooding along the Nehalem River. The waterway at Foss is expected to crest at 27.7 feet this afternoon, almost 14 feet over flood stage.
Along the Wilson River near Tillamook, the river is expected to crest at 4 p.m. today at 22.6 feet, more than 10 feet above flood stage.
The National Weather Service predicts that the Chehalis River near Grand Mound in Washington is expected to crest at about 4 p.m. Tuesday at about 20 feet, six feet above flood stage.
After a night of severe winds and heavy rains, coastal residents from Astoria to Tillamook woke Monday to road closures and power outages. The storm is expected to subside this afternoon.
There have been no reports of casualties.
Centralia is literally 30 minutes SE of me.
It’s bad here, but I have power and my loved ones all made it through.
Yeah, we’re having HEAVY rainfall here in western Oregon too.
Darn globull warming!
We are ok even with the 100mph winds here on the Oregon coast.
Most of the damage is just North of us from Lincoln City up to Astoria.
The Oregon Coast has all main highways to the rest of the state closed off making us virtually stranded from all ya’ll.
Our grocery story in town has back up generators but the Safeway and others up North are looking at food spoiling due to no back up generators.
We are getting news from KING 5 as all local cable stations are out.
It is a mess out there.
Some saying worst storm in 20 to 30 years.
Flooding in streams/rivers due to the rain and rectent big snowfall melting.
Getting hit pretty good by the Pineapple Express.
Warm here on the coast just don’t want to go out and have a fir tree or branch wop ya over the head.
Also now on mudslide and moving debris alert.
KV and I are homebound this last year except grocery run every 2 weeks so this is no big deal to be home.
To make him smile I told him “hey the whole county is homebound with us for a few days”.
The lil RV spit Idaho Point across the bay from us is still in the dar and some of the Port huge lights for the bay (since 9/11) are down.
High winds still gusting at times but it is all slowing down.
Natures way of giving us free tree trimming. : )
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