Blocked, flooded roads and landslide risks in Western Washington as rain continues to hit the region
Flooded roads, closures in Mason County
More rain this week causes flooded roads and landslide threats. Q13's Grace Lim reports from Shelton, Washington.
As of Tuesday morning, there were around 9 different streets in Kent with some level of standing water. Kent officials asked drivers to use alternate routes.
A portion of the parking lot and nearby field by Mill Creek Middle School in Kent was flooded. Other areas were even worse earlier in the day.
At the intersection of 81st and 196th Q13 News witnessed a semi getting stuck. A tow truck driver wading through almost waist-deep water had to help get the semi-truck out of there.
East James Street was also a problem area. The street floods every time a lot of rain falls that the city of Kent created a pumping station nearby. The station is supposed to collect water and pump it back into the Green River. But due to the volume of rain this month, the pumping station is not enough to keep the water at bay. Although the Green River was not flooding as of Tuesday night, it is higher than usual causing the streets to pool with water. As of Tuesday night most of the roads that were shut down in the morning were opened back up.
Flooded roads in South King County
Heavy rain in Western Washington causing flooded roads and road closures especially in South King County. Q13's Hana Kim reports from Kent.
But the rain also started falling again hard Tuesday night meaning the danger for flooding is not over.
Heavy rain and saturated soil is increasing the threat for landslides across Western Washington.
WSDOT crews had to shut down SR 106 Monday morning for a couple hours to clear debris from a landslide near Union.
Many roads were closed in Shelton due to flooding and standing water. The Mason County Sheriff's Office is urging residents to follow road closure signs and never drive through a flooded road. On roads like Bourgault Rd West in Shelton, the depth of standing water was about 2 feet deep which is enough to sweep away most vehicles. Road visibility also disappears during flooding which can lead cars off the road.
Most of the flooding is near the Skokomish River where moderate flooding is occurring, so there's a lot of standing water near riverbanks and nearby roads. Even some homes and parks are flooded.
The flood and landslide threat will continue through at least Wednesday.
Grays Harbor County sees rise in flooding, landslide threats
Heavy rain continues to hit the coast as inland, areas in Grays Harbor County near U.S. Hwy 101 seeing some landslides. Q13's Steve Kiggins reports from Pacific Beach.