Tens of thousands of residents in western Washington could face evacuation orders when another round of heavy rain drops on the region Thursday, threatening to bring catastrophic flooding as rivers near historic levels.
Days of seemingly unrelenting heavy rain had already triggered rescues and road closures, and by Wednesday, Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency, warning that “lives will be at stake in the coming days.” Some residents have already been ordered to higher ground, with Skagit County, a major agricultural region north of Seattle, ordering those within the Skagit River’s floodplain to evacuate.
“Catastrophic flooding is likely” in many areas and the state is requesting water rescue teams and boats, Ferguson said on the social media platform X on Wednesday night.
Hundreds of Guard members will be sent to help communities, said Gent Welsh, adjutant general of the Washington National Guard.
Environmental Glance
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake has rocked Alaska on Saturday, Dec. 6, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
A Thanksgiving weekend storm system brought over a foot of snow and strong winds across the US midwest and thunderstorms across the south, as 53 million people from South Dakota to New York were under winter weather alerts.
Less than a year after the Palisades fire destroyed nearly 7,000 structures in Los Angeles, the first completed rebuilt home is being celebrated in Pacific Palisades.
A powerful atmospheric river weather system has mostly moved through California but not before causing at least seven deaths and dousing much of the state.
Concerns over a small brush fire that reignited days later into the mammoth Palisades fire – the most destructive in Los Angeles history – have grown in recent weeks amid reports that firefighters were ordered to leave the original site of the smaller blaze despite their concerns the ground was still smoldering.





























