Our latest storm has finally downed the nation’s largest Sitka spruce, located off Highway 26 just outside of Seaside, OR. It was at least 700 years old. Parts of SE Portland are water-logged as the Johnson Creek flooded over its banks, but so far I haven’t heard of the floodwaters here in town getting even a foot high.

In some news a bit more personal, my mother and sister had to leave their homes in Chehalis, WA due to severe flooding there. At least 20 miles of the I-5 freeway is closed at the cities of Centralia and Chehalis, due to the flooding of the Chehalis River, which is expected to crest tomorrow at 75 feet. If it does crest that high, it would put all lanes of I-5 in that area under about 5 feet of water.

My mom’s house, which is at a higher elevation than the other houses along her street, didn’t have floodwater inside when she had to be evacuated, but the water is still rising and many homes along her street are flooded with at least a foot or two of water. My sister’s house is on risers, but the water was lapping at the doorstep when she was evacuated. Her deck and everything in her carport had already been swept away by the flood, and she had to wade through 4 feet of water to escape; luckily my nieces were already safe elsewhere. The street that my mom and sister live on had never been flooded before.

A state of emergency has been declared for Washington state due to the flooding. My mom told me she can hear helicopters in the dark, going in and out of town, rescuing people from rooftops. She saw a few people on the roof of a local grocery store, trapped by the dangerous debris and currents of the floodwater surrounding the building. Until they can make other arrangements, she and my sister are staying at my sister’s ex-husband’s house, which is at a higher elevation that is not in danger of being flooded. So far, none of my relatives have lost their homes for certain…but the flood isn’t over just yet. The freeway is expected to be closed for at least 36 hours, and many neighborhoods are completely isolated by the floods.

My sister’s best friend of over 20 years narrowly escaped with her life. A friend was helping her evacuate her cats & pet bunny, when the dike broke near her home. She said she heard a “whoosh” and when she looked behind her, there was a wall of water coming down the street. She sprinted to the pickup truck, with her arms full of her animals, and they barely managed to out-drive the floodwaters.

I can’t imagine how scary that would be. It makes me want to start taking everything I hear about planning for natural disasters entirely too seriously. When I first heard how people were leaving their pets behind due to the panic of evacuation, and how one of my mom’s friend’s dogs drowned when the dike broke, all I could think is, “I need 2 more cat carriers (since I only have one), a travel cage for the bunny, a couple of coolers to tuck the reptiles in, and some heat-packs to stick in with the reptiles.” Losing belongings can be rough. Losing books can make me flat-out cry. Losing irreplaceable photos and mementos (the kids’ baby books!) would be horrible. But losing the animals whose lives are entrusted to me, and who have no adequate way to take care of themselves if we can’t evacuate them — well, that’s entirely unacceptable.

It would take a flood of Biblical proportions before I’d have to worry about flooding where I live, because I’m a couple of miles away from — and a couple of hundred feet higher in elevation! — the nearest river or creek. But hey, we’re just about due for a nasty earthquake, or another volcano exploding. And there are at least 3 or 4 trees close enough to take out part of my townhouse if a windstorm knocked them down. And you never know when an army of marauding zombies will attack. (Sorry about that last; when I’m worried, I make bad jokes.)