Messy Recovery Work Begins in Northwest
Filed Under Curt Flood | Posted on December 14, 2007
CENTRALIA, Wash. %26mdash; Dodging tires, furniture and geysers of water, Bert Carver paddled a borrowed plastic boat through the murky streets of a defeated neighborhood.
After surveying his wife’s submerged car and the high-water mark at his first-floor windows, Carver glumly pointed out the “For Sale” sign still hanging in front of his newly remodeled house.
“Honey, it’s bad,” neighbor Sandra Lund called from her front door. “It’s real bad.”
Residents confronted similar scenes across the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday as floodwaters from a deadly wave of storms finally relented, leaving a terrible mess behind.
At least three people were killed directly by the storm and its aftermath of fallen trees, downed power lines and bursting rivers, authorities said. A pair of mountain hikers were killed in an avalanche after the snow pack took on heavy rain. An elderly man was missing after he was believed to have fallen into a raging creek behind his house in rural Winlock.
The storm moved on to dump several inches of snow over the Midwest, where the weather snarled road and air travel, resulting in hundreds of delayed or canceled flights. More than 350 flights were canceled alone at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
In the Pacific Northwest, the worst wasn’t over for many people. Close to the coast, thousands remained without electricity, and some towns were still unreachable, officials said.
Military and police helicopters kept up the constant beat of rotor blades over much of the region, in the area’s largest aerial search-and-rescue operation in a decade. Some 300 stranded people had already been pulled to safety by Wednesday morning.
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, who flew over the ravaged region for the second time Wednesday, said the damage could ultimately be in the billions of dollars.
She had begun working with federal officials to assess the damage and expected a presidential emergency declaration to help speed humanitarian relief.
“On a human level, it’s pretty devastating,” the governor said Wednesday. “It’s amazing what Mother Nature can do, but she can’t take away the human spirit.”
In Centralia and the neighboring town of Chehalis, homes and businesses bore the brunt of the flooded Chehalis River, which turned Interstate 5 and several miles of valley into giant lakes.
The freeway, closed completely since Monday evening, may not reopen for at least a few more days, said state officials worried about damage that may be revealed as the water recedes.
As they stood with neighbors on the waters’ edge near their homes Wednesday, Brad Tegge and his girlfriend, Patricia Murray, wondered what would come next.
Their interior of their home didn’t appear to be damaged by the flood, but the chocolate-brown water had formed an imposing moat to keep them out.
Like many others, Tegge and Murray evacuated before sunrise Tuesday, taking their children with them. “It’s been pure hell,” Tegge said.
Now, they wonder how they will get back to work: both Wal-Mart, where Tegge works, and McDonald’s, where Murray works, were closed because of the flood.
“We don’t know how long we’re going to be out of work, or even if we’re going to be paid,” Murray said. “We’ve got bills to pay.”
Another boat launched into the streets as they spoke, taking someone back home to pick up diabetes medication. Retiree Sandra Burlow, who also dodged flood damage to her home, was among those who remained thankful that they had escaped the worst.
“We’re all in pretty good spirits,” she said. “What can you do?”
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Associated Press writer Curt Woodward in Olympia contributed to this report.
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