Friday, December 7, 2007

Oregon governor says flood damage probably in billions

AP: The drenching rain and howling wind were gone but flooding concerns persisted Wednesday as anxious residents waited for water to recede so they could see what was left after this week's fierce storm. The storm, which killed at least seven people in the Pacific Northwest before moving on Tuesday, left behind flooded homes, fallen trees and washed-out roads, including the region's largest highway. On Wednesday, the storm continued pushing east, dumping snow across the Midwest, and was blamed for two traffic deaths in Wisconsin.

Damage could be in the billions of dollars, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Wednesday. She said she was pushing to deliver a damage estimate to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and expected a presidential emergency declaration that could speed delivery of food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies.

At least 300 people had been rescued by helicopters from the Navy, Coast Guard, National Guard and other agencies, and flights continued in what Gregoire described as the state's largest aerial search-and-rescue operation in a decade. …At least half of downtown Aberdeen had electricity Wednesday and Grays Harbor Community Hospital no longer had to rely on emergency generators, said Aberdeen police Detective George J. Kelly. Tens of thousands were without power in Oregon and Washington state at the height of the storm. National Guard troops were summoned early Wednesday to help evacuate a 20-unit trailer park near Elma threatened by the flooding Chehalis River, Kelly said. Flooding about 90 miles west of Seattle also was approaching U.S. Highway 12, a principal link to the Puget Sound area, Kelly said.

…Interstate 5 has been shut down since Monday at Centralia because of flooding. At one point Tuesday, officials said a three-mile section of the road was under as much as 10 feet of water from the Chehalis River. The interstate, which is the main north-south route between Portland, Ore., and Seattle, was expected to be closed at least through Thursday.

In Tillamook, Ore., home of large dairy cattle herds, the smell of manure was pervasive as shopkeepers downtown shoveled out their businesses. …The storm overwhelmed a number of sewage treatment plants, allowing tons of raw sewage to spew into Puget Sound. Mudslides halted Amtrak passenger train service between Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia, at least through Wednesday. The storm was blamed for five deaths in Washington state, including two hikers who died in an avalanche and a man who was buried by a mudslide. Two Oregon deaths were reported, including a driver swept away by high water.

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