They're still finding the remains of hikers, and too many pets, but the flood waters are receding, and I-5 is partially re-opened, one lane in each direction. At this point it's only open to trucks over 10,000 lbs; a 20 mile stretch of the highway connecting British Columbia with Tijuana was flooded over on Monday at Chehalis. Amtrak just reopened as well, giving us another option besides air travel.
The damage is concentrated about 100 miles to the south. Last year's storm knocked out power to some of Seattle's suburbs for up to three weeks; this one is putting a lot more hardship on fewer people.
What used to be an on ramp:
Centralia:
The national guard rescuing people by boat on Tuesday:
Near Centralia:
Farms in south-western Washington are devastated. These cows drowned in the flood:
A lot of our food comes by truck from California, and from a 175 mile drive through a wide valley, the next shortest route is a back road over two substantial passes, and a 350 mile drive; the all freeway route is about 500 miles. This alone has been costing the state's economy about $5 million a day.
We're very happy to rejoin the rest of the country!
