Tens of thousands ordered to flee flooding after torrential rain in Pacific

MOUNT VERNON, Dec 12 (AP): Surging floodwaters turned farmland into vast pools, washed out bridges and stranded people Thursday, with evacuation orders issued for tens of thousands of Washington state residents and authorities hoping levees prevent far worse damage.

"The flooding levels we're looking at are potentially historic in nature, so we just want to emphasize how serious the situation is," Gov. Bob Ferguson said at a news briefing Thursday, one day after declaring a statewide emergency.

About 78,000 residents of a major agricultural region north of Seattle were ordered to evacuate the Skagit River's floodplain, officials said.

Along the river in Mount Vernon, teams knocked on doors in low-lying areas Thursday to inform them of evacuation notices, city authorities said.

Further north near the U.S.-Canada border, Sumas, Nooksack and Everson were evacuated after being inundated by flood waters, while the border crossing at Sumas was closed, according to Whatcom County. Sumas Mayor Bruce Bosch said much of the city has been "devastated" by the high waters just four years after a similar flood.

Over 12,000 customers in Washington were without electricity Thursday night, according to PowerOutage.us. Dozens of roads were inundated or washed out across the state, some of which had no detour or estimated time for reopening.

A mountainous section of U.S. 2 was closed due to rocks, trees and mud, while a large section of state Route 410 was closed because of water covering the roadway, according to the state transportation department.