MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
About 100,000 people in Washington state have been told to evacuate as flooding rivers continue to rise there. The governor has declared a state of emergency. Casey Martin from member station KUOW in Seattle reports.
CASEY MARTIN, BYLINE: The Skagit River is north of Seattle about an hour. It's a lush river valley filled with farms. After two big rainstorms this week, a lot of those fields are now beneath standing water. The Skagit River races through the town of Mount Vernon.
GERRY MILLER: It's going pretty fast along this river right here. Highest I've seen it.
C MARTIN: Gerry Miller (ph) came to see the water. As of Thursday night, it had already risen over 30 feet. He climbed on top of a wall that protects the town from floods like this.
MILLER: Kind of scary, especially for the businesses. A lot of money invested in that.
C MARTIN: Those businesses all have sandbags in front of their doors and plywood on the windows, prepared for the worst. Across western Washington, multiple rivers and streams have flooded this week. Dozens of people went to a Red Cross shelter, and a fairgrounds opened for those with horses and livestock. Lexi Smith (ph) is worried because the Skagit is expected to crest soon.
LEXI SMITH: Our concern, of course, is they're talking about the levees breaking. That's the big deal because if you're in the flood plain areas, you know you're at risk.
C MARTIN: This river valley does flood fairly often, but not usually this bad. The National Weather Service says it could end up being catastrophic and meet or exceed record levels.
SMITH: There was a callout from people everywhere asking, can you help me? Can you come help sandbag? Do you have a truck? And that's very typical of this community. People come and help.
C MARTIN: About 100,000 people in western Washington have been told to evacuate. But in some areas, it's not mandatory, and a few longtimers say they'll ride out the storm. Like George Mariani (ph), who lives on the second floor across the street from the river. He was watching the water inch closer to a bridge when police asked him to leave his home.
GEORGE MARIANI: I'm surprised the bridge is still open. What's up, guys?
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #1: Got to give you an evacuation notice.
MARIANI: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #1: Are you guys OK?
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #2: We recommend that you go, but...
MARIANI: Yeah. Well, thanks.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #2: Yeah. Yep, you bet. Good luck, guys.
C MARTIN: Down on the street, Mark Steen (ph) and dozens of others watched as river water began to seep through the protective wall.
MARK STEEN: They've done all they can. They got sandbags and the plastics up against the doors, and that's about all you can do. And just pray that somebody's watching over you.
C MARTIN: He won't leave until water starts coming over that wall, he said.
For NPR News, I'm Casey Martin by the Skagit River in Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.