Flood — Lewis, Washington

2009-01-07 to 2009-01-10 · near Chehalis River at Centralia, Lewis, Washington

Event narrative

There was some damage in the town of Randle, mostly businesses that need to replace carpets. Interstate 5 was closed for about 2 days, causing losses of nearly 10 million. Dozens of homes flooded and many people had to be evacuated. More than 50 miles of road surfaces, as well as a water treatment plant, were damaged.

Wider weather episode

Rainfall of 8-20 inches in the mountains and 1 to 9 inches in the lowlands occurred from Jan 6th through 8th. Flooding was widespread over much of Western Washington. Record flooding occurred on the Snoqualmie, Tolt, and North Fork Stillaguamish Rivers. Near record flooding occurred on the Snohomish, Newaukum, and Skookumchuck Rivers. Major flooding occurred on 18 rivers and 21 forecast points. Surveys found an estimated 497 residences that were destroyed or suffered major damage, and another 2,340 residences that needed repairs. Over 44,000 people were evacuated as a result of rising or high water as well as landslides.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (46.7390, -122.9800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 148608. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.