Washington State Is Spared Loss of Life Amid Flood Evacuations

Widespread evacuations and emergency repairs to flood-control systems helped the state of Washington avoid any reported deaths during record flooding this week, though local officials warned that swollen rivers and another round of rain would delay the recovery.

Roughly 100,000 people were told to evacuate statewide as nearly a dozen rivers reached a major flood level throughout the day on Thursday, including the Skagit River north of Seattle. Although most people in that floodplain had evacuated earlier Thursday, about a thousand people in the town of Burlington had to flee overnight as a slough off the Skagit overflowed its banks.