EDIS Number: FF-20120223-34276-USA
Date / time: 23/02/2012 04:11:28 [UTC]
Event: Flash Flood
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of Washington
Location: [Western region]
Number of Deads: N/A
Number of Injured: N/A
Number of Infected: N/A
Number of Missing: N/A
Number of Affected: N/A
Number of Evacuated: N/A
Damage level: Moderate
Description:
Heavy rain triggered mudslides and flooding damaged homes and halted passenger train service on Wednesday. A 100-foot mudslide at Warm Beach left one home destroyed and another home damaged. The slide occurred in the 14600 block of Evergreen Way in the McKees Beach development at approximately 12:34 p.m., said North County Regional Fire Authority Christian Davis. The homes, which were located at beach level, were hit by the sliding debris. A woman was inside the destroyed home at the time, but she was not injured. There were no other reports of injuries. Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution, but residents have since been allowed to return. Engineers were called to check the stability of the hillside. Near Lake Stevens, fast-moving floodwaters tore through a house along the Pilchuck River. The raging waves swallowed up a majority of the Bess families' home. "I guess it went at 4 o'clock this morning, the neighbors told my husband," said homeowner Catherine Bess. The house, which was red-tagged last year, was finally washed away after 24 hours of heavy rain swelled the river. Earlier Wednesday, two mudslides hit railroad tracks in Everett, halting Amtrak and Sound Transit train runs. Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Gus Melonas says a slide about 1:30 a.m. covered 30 feet of track about 5 feet deep in mud, rocks and trees. An excavator clearing that slide was hit by a second slide about 5:30 a.m. No one was injured. The track was cleared by 11 a.m., and freight trains were rolling. A 48-hour safety moratorium for passenger trains prevented those runs from resuming until Friday morning. Syndicated from RSOE EDIS - Emergency and Disaster Information