Flooding in Washington, January 1 to 3, 1997

Melting snow and rain caused mudslides and sinkholes in conjuction with the late December storms. Redmond got an inch of rain in 12 hrs. About 30 roads in King County were closed due to flooding or mudslides. A 58 year old woman died under a collapsed roof from the weight of the snow. Mercer Island had 7 major mudslides causing 1 million in damage. Some main roads were closed for the first week of the new year and cleanup from the mudslides and repairs to roads and bridges will cost around 20 million. In Lynnwood there were dozens of homes flooded some with up to 6 feet of flood water. On Camano island some homes were inaccessible due to slides. In Seattle, a mudslide knocked out secondary supports to the Magnolia bridge. The bridge carries about 17,000 cars a day and was closed for many weeks. In Shoreline a 100' long sinkhole engulfed an intersection into a steep ravine that would cost 2 million to repair. All in all about 50 homes around the Seattle area had to be evacuated due to mudslides. Lake Sammamish was at its highest level since 1962. The lake was about 7 feet above normal which flooded many lawns and docks.