Landslide Halts Amtrak Service in Northwest

Another night of heavy rain in the Pacific Northwest turned deadly early Wednesday morning when a large tree crashed into a Portland, Oregon, home, killing a 60-year-old woman.

“All of a sudden I heard a big woosh come down and next thing I know we got tree down”, resident Dale Hall said.

Crews were pumping water from an elementary school in Gresham, as well as cleaning up hallways and classrooms.

Andy Haner, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle, said every major river in western Washington is either already at or will rise to at least a minor flood stage over the next few days.

Residents in Clackamas County were also evacuated to a shelter opened by the American Red Cross.

Storms have also left 26,000 customers without power in the Portland area, utility Portland General Electric said.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings Tuesday for parts of OR and Washington and coastal rivers as another storm was forecast for the region later on Tuesday. At Sea-Tac Airport, where the official weather for Seattle is recorded, the weather service says 2.13 inches of rain fell on Tuesday. The road continued to wash out, forcing the community college to close early Monday and to stay closed through Tuesday.

A mudslide has closed State Route 2 just west of Leavenworth in the Cascade Range.

Major flooding was predicted for the Snoqualmie, Snohomish and Skykomish rivers north of Seattle, Haner said.

Heavy rain caused landslides that necessitated traffic detours on NW Cornell road and Skyline Blvd.in Portland Ore., Monday, Dec. 7, 2015. Portland’s metropolitan area has already recorded 144mm of rainfall this month.

High water was a problem along the Oregon Coast, where pooling caused road closures, stranded cars and flooded neighborhoods. Several regions in Washington state already experienced heavy flooding and Cowlitz County declared an emergency and officials reported a landslide in Kalama, Washington, that knocked a home off its foundation.

One landslide forced an afternoon closure along Southeast Foster Road, at 155th Avenue.

“There are people in need across Southwest Washington and the rest of the state and we’re here to provide whatever assistance the local communities require”, Inslee said.

The rain also caused Portland’s sewer system to overflow into the Willamette River.

OregonLive.com reports that the Oregon Zoo had to be shut down due to flooding on the visitor pathways.