By Barbara LaBoe

With heavy rain forecast for Western Washington this week, there’s a good chance of minor and even major flooding of rivers. With that in mind, we thought we’d share some flood preparedness tips. We hope none of you have to leave your homes, of course, but with the amount of rain we get in our fair state, these are good tips to review at any time.

The main tip? Pay attention to weather reports and warnings and do NOT drive through standing water. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, that’s the cause of most flood-related deaths in Washington.  It only takes six inches of water to stall a vehicle and a foot to float most vehicles, so never take the chance that you’ll be able to make it across a flooded road.

Here are some other tips from FEMA’s www.ready.gov about things you can do before and during a flood to keep you and your loved ones safe.

Before a flood:

• Create an emergency kit with medical supplies, food and water, dry clothing and important documents stored in a waterproof container.
• Get a battery-powered radio or a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio with tone alert. Stock extra batteries for both.
• Establish a family communications plan and meeting place. Know where you’ll meet if you’re separated during an evacuation. (For flooding in particular, make sure it’s on high ground). Designate a relative or friend outside the area to check in with if you’re separated and can’t reach each other. Here are some examples.
• Stash extra charging cords or portable chargers for your cellphones in your vehicles so you have them if you have to leave quickly.

If fish can swim across the highway, don’t cross. This is a photo of US 101 in 2007.

During flooding:

• Remember your safety, not possessions, is your main priority. If you’re told to evacuate, do so quickly.
• Follow weather reports closely and be prepared to evacuate quickly, including having key items ready to grab as you leave.
• If there’s time before an evacuation -- and you can do it safely -- turn off utilities at the main switches or valves. Disconnect electrical appliances. Do NOT touch any electrical equipment if you are wet or are in standing water.
• Secure your home. If there’s time, move essential items to an upper floor.
• Follow WSDOT’s Facebook and Twitter pages for our flood response updates. Visit the traffic alerts page for up-to-date road closure information.

While evacuating:

• Do not walk through moving water. Six inches of moving water can knock you down. If you have to cross water to get to safety, walk where the water is still. Use a stick to check the firmness of the ground in front of you.
• Do not drive into flooded areas. You and your vehicle can be quickly swept away. If floodwaters rise around your car unexpectedly, abandon it and move to higher ground if you can do so safely.
• Do not camp or park your vehicle along streams, rivers or creeks, even if they’re not flooding at the moment. Conditions can change quickly.

Feeling more prepared? Good.
Now, just remember these tips and do your best to stay safe -- and dry --  in the days to come.

by guest blogger Bronlea Mishler

Rainy weekend forecast puts fix to the test

“When we inspected the culverts last summer, they really looked like Swiss cheese – holes everywhere,” said John Tellesbo, WSDOT’s Area 3 assistant maintenance superintendent. “We’d patched a few minor sinkholes on the shoulder, but it was just a matter of time before we got a big one that could have caused a serious problem.”

Snow. Ice. Mud. Rivers of rain. When winter weather flings its worst at the northwest, it’s not just drivers that have to bear the brunt of the unpleasantness. The roads themselves take a constant beating from the elements – and that means our maintenance crews have to be on their toes to keep the highways drivable.

Crews use the dry summer months to inspect and repair the highways – everything from filling cracks and patching potholes to replacing signs and maintaining culverts. Getting all that work done in the good weather means that the highways are prepared and ready to meet the bad weather – and that’s good news if you plan to hit the road during the winter months.

While all maintenance is important, our crews give special attention to highway drainage culverts. If you’re like most drivers, you’ve probably never noticed our culverts – that is, unless something has gone wrong. Flooding, potholes, sinkholes and big dips in the road are all highway maladies that can result from clogged or damaged culverts.

Despite our best intentions – and attention – sometimes old culverts don’t make it through a winter unscathed. There’s not much maintenance crews can do in the winter when the corroded old pipes begin to fail, except patch the resulting potholes and road divots. Until recently, the stretch of US 2 near Bickford Avenue was a particular headache for maintenance crews. Five culverts cross beneath the highway, carrying stormwater to nearby detention and treatment areas. And all five of those culverts were one storm away from falling apart.

New piping in place under US 2

Fortunately for drivers – and our maintenance crews – those culverts got ripped out this summer as part of a larger project to improve the nearby Bickford Avenue intersection. Installed in their place were five new culverts made of thick, heavy, rubberized plastic to better withstand the elements.

“We’re very fortunate we fixed them when we did,” Tellesbo said. “This is one less area we have to worry about this winter – and that means our crews can be out cleaning drains and catchbasins and keeping the highways safe.”

1 p.m. update: 90 sections of highway reopened. There are 34 sections still closed and 14 restricted.

10 a.m. update: 85 sections of state highway have reopened. There are 39 sections still closed and 12 restricted.

Busy morning this morning. As of 4:30 a.m., 68 sections of state highway have reopened. There are 49 sections still closed and 18 restricted. The amount of roads closing is changing constantly, so I would recommend looking at our county-by-county update site to see if a road is open or closed. If you don't see a closure on our travel alerts and slowdowns page that means the road has been opened. There were so many closures it became very difficult to navigate the site yesterday.

In terms of reopening the roads, here are some of the timelines we know of right now.

US 2, Stevens pass - Opened at 4p.m. on Thursday
I-90, Snoqualmie pass - both directions opened by noon
US 12, White pass - This area was probably the hardest hit of any of the passes, and we have no estimate for reopening yet.
US 97, Blewett pass - There are multiple washouts on this road, no estimate for reopening yet.

One important note to drivers: Even though I-90 will open to traffic, crews are still working out there to get it completely cleaned up. Please give our crews plenty of room if you plan on traveling out there today.

I-5, Lewis County (near Chehalis): 12:30 p.m. update: I-5 in both directions now open to all traffic.

In a weird string of events yesterday, we tried to route trucks past the closure on SR 7 yesterday but wouldn't you know it, a mudslide blocked the road. At least we tried :).

We have some amazing photos of this recent event on our Flickr account. There was an amazing amount of damage across western Washington.

On a side note:
Remember the trouble we were having with our AC unit in the server room? We put enough portable AC units and fans to keep the servers cool and the Web site up and running. Turns out that the part we needed to fix the unit was trucked up from California! They are waiting for us to open I-5 to get the part to us, so this closure directly affects us also. We will definitely breath a big sigh of relief when that part gets here and we can finally fix that AC unit.

We know how important these routes are for you and are working as hard as we can to get them safe and get them open again.

Summit East Slide
Originally uploaded by Washington State Dept of Transportation.

An amazing amount of rain is falling on Washington today. At one point we have counted over 60 road closures due to water over the roadway. Pictures are rolling in of the incredible damage that has been caused due to melting snow and rainfall.

This photo is of the Summit East ski area of Snoqualmie pass. Check our Flickr account throughout today and tomorrow for more pics of the terrible damage all this water is causing.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/