Heavy NW rains bring flooding, evacuations, school closures

By LISA BAUMANN
Associated Press

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Heavy rainfall in Washington is causing flooding that forced school closures and evacuation warnings and stranded some in their cars as storms continued in the Pacific Northwest. About 77,0000 customers were without power in western Washington at one point Monday. A state of emergency for the town of Hamilton was declared Sunday afternoon by the Skagit County Unified Command. The Skagit Valley Herald reported that people living in the Hamilton area, about 80 miles northeast of Seattle, were urged to evacuate as soon as possible. All schools in the Bellingham district were closed, because flooding in the area made travel dangerous.