Washington flooding forces an entire city to evacuate as rivers top historic highs

By CEDAR ATTANASIO and CLAIRE RUSH, Associated Press

BURLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — National Guard troops went door-to-door early Friday to evacuate a farming city north of Seattle as severe flooding throughout Western Washington stranded families on rooftops, washed over bridges and ripped homes from their foundations.

Days of torrential rain have swelled rivers to record or near-record levels, with Gov. Bob Ferguson warning that as many as 100,000 people would need to evacuate statewide.

Citing the risk of dike and levee failures, officials issued “go now” orders Wednesday to tens of thousands of residents in the Skagit River flood plain, including the city of Burlington, home to nearly 10,000 people. By Friday morning, muddy water overflowed a slough and rushed into homes, prompting more urgent warnings.

“ALL RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF BURLINGTON SHOULD EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY,” Skagit County wrote on social media.

The Skagit River drains a wide swath of the rugged Cascade Range before winding west across broad, low-lying farmlands on its way to Puget Sound. Cities like Burlington sit on that flat stretch between the moun...