The Associated Press
A storm blasted parts of Western Washington with torrential rain that caused landslides and flooding, including in one neighborhood in Hoquiam where water washed out the foundations of three homes, threatened others and forced the evacuation of about 60 nursing home residents, authorities said.
Police urged residents to leave their homes along an eight-block stretch of Queets Avenue at the base of Beacon Hill because of the danger that the whole bluff could give way, Police Chief Jeff Meyers said Monday.
There was no exact number of evacuations, and no injuries have been reported. The nursing home was evacuated as a precaution, he said.
Streets are flooded throughout the Aberdeen-Hoquiam area, which took the brunt of the storm. About 6 inches or rain was reported at Bowerman Airport in Hoquiam.
Landslides have closed U.S. Highway 101 in two places and also block U.S. Highway 12 and state Highway 107 in the area, the Transportation Department said.
An additional 1 to 2 inches of rain were forecast today across western Washington. Although the downpours were expected to ease Tuesday, the landslide danger will linger for several days on bluffs and steep hillsides, the weather service said.
Four to 9 inches of rain fell on the southwest slopes of the Olympics, and 2 to 5 inches on the west slopes of the Cascades. Another inch or 2 was expected Monday in the mountains.
The heavy rain prompted flood warnings on the Stillaguamish, Snoqualmie and Newaukum rivers and a flood watch for many other rivers.
Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott said a dozen inmates of the juvenile detention facility on the banks of the Chehalis River in Aberdeen were moved to the county jail as a precaution. They would be moved back this afternoon, he said.
Flooding threatened the water treatment plant for the Naselle Youth Camp, a correctional facility operated by the state Department of Social and Health Services, said Mark Stewart, a spokesman for the state Emergency Operations Center.
The storm dropped snow over the weekend in the mountains and higher elevations in Eastern Washington. It turned to rain at lower elevations, including Spokane, today as temperatures rose above freezing.
In Hoquiam, the homes at the bottom of the Beacon Hill bluff have always been a problematic area, Meyers said, but this is the worst he’s seen in nine years.
Emergency responders are having a hard time moving around because of street flooding and the closure of main highways because of landslides.
Schools in Aberdeen and Hoquiam are closed, and residents were urged to stay home except for emergencies.
