By Owoseni Martins

Heavy rains that caused “catastrophic flooding” in the Pacific Northwest of North America have finally subsided, but meteorologists warn that overflowing rivers and lingering floodwaters will continue to pose hazards for several more days.

On Thursday, tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate across the US states of Oregon and Washington and as far north as Canada’s British Columbia after days of relentless rain led rivers to overflow their banks.

Western Washington has been hit hardest by the storm, with about 100,000 residents placed under “Level 3” evacuation orders.

State officials have instructed people living south of Seattle and Tacoma to leave their homes, as aerial images show farmland already submerged and nearby communities at serious risk.
In the city of Orting, south of Seattle, authorities warned of a “significant threat to life and property.”

So far, there have been no reports of deaths or missing persons related to the flooding, according to Karina Shagren, spokesperson for Washington’s emergency management division.

Across the border in British Columbia, large parts of the city of Abbotsford, east of Vancouver, were flooded as of Thursday night, putting hundreds of properties at risk.

Five of the six highways connecting Vancouver to the rest of the region were also closed because of flooding, rockfalls, and avalanche risks, according to the province’s Ministry of Transport, which described the situation as “evolving and very dynamic.”

The main highway between Vancouver and Seattle remains open.

The heavy downpours were driven into the Pacific Northwest earlier this week by an atmospheric river a massive stream of moisture carried inland from the Pacific Ocean.

The storm system, which dropped more than 250mm (10 inches) of rain in some areas, also caused heavy showers and flooding as far away as western Montana and northern Idaho.

Although rainfall began to ease on Thursday, the effects are expected to persist as large volumes of water continue moving through already swollen rivers.

“While drier weather is expected in this part of the country over the coming weekend, the major and catastrophic flooding impacts are likely to continue for several days across parts of western Washington State and northwestern Oregon,” the US National Weather Service said.

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