Flood Update—Classic Hits 100.7 KLOG News

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency yesterday, stating in a release that “We need the federal government to grant that request. This situation is extremely serious. The next few days are critical. I want to encourage all Washingtonians to listen carefully to alerts from your county and emergency management departments.”

The state of emergency declaration allows the state to seek federal funds for recovery. Whether we will get that or not is up in the air; back in April, President Donald Trump and FEMA denied the emergency declaration request following the major bomb cyclone. Trump said the request was not warranted.

The Cowlitz County Department of Emergency Management warned that this might just be a short break in the weather. They said early next week the National Weather Service expects heavy snow in the high Cascades, high precipitation, and strong winds. With such heavy ground saturation this week, next week’s weather could bring the risk of downed trees and power outages, so they say to plan accordingly.

Roads continued to reopen yesterday around the county. Around 11:30 a.m., the Cowlitz County Department of Public Works announced that Ostrander Road had reopened. Then around 6:30 p.m., they announced that Pine Street, Ohio, and 46th in Longview had reopened.

Today there were some new closures: Alpha Drive closed down at 5:50 a.m. There was a landslide at 6 a.m. in the 2100 block of Holcomb Road, partially blocking the westbound lane. At 7 a.m., there was reportedly water over the roadway on Hazel Dell Road.

The City of Longview said all normal city operations were back to normal. For those still seeking sandbags, they are still available; just check either your city or the county’s Facebook page for details.

Cowlitz County has also released cleanup tips that you can find on their website. They say that “floodwater can carry germs and other harmful substances, so it’s important to take precautions during and after a flood.”