Coast Guard rescues 66 in brutal Wash. storm

A stranded motorist crawls out from his vehicle as flood waters rise Dec. 3 in Olympia, Wash. Later in the day, the Coast Guard would dispatch helicopters and rescue residents, some from the roofs of houses.


Coast Guard rescues 66 in brutal Wash. storm
By Rachel La Corte - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 4, 2007 12:21:15 EST

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Coast Guard rescued dozens of people Monday night in areas surrounded by water in western Washington. Major flooding and high winds that downed trees and knocked out power left two people dead and closed an interstate highway, officials said Monday.

Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency in response to the brutal winter storm and said “we haven’t seen the worst yet.”

“It hasn’t peaked,” Gregoire said Monday afternoon. “We are concerned with what Mother Nature has in store for us.”

By 10 p.m., six Coast Guard helicopters had hoisted 66 people — in some cases from rooftops, said Petty Officer Kelly Parker in Seattle. Two helicopters were continuing operations late into the night, he said. Navy helicopters were also dispatched.

About 150 people were stranded at some point Monday across the region, Gregoire said, with about half of them reported rescued by Monday evening. Some of those rescues were conducted by boat. Four hikers stranded by harsh weather also were rescued from the Snoqualmie Pass area, officials said.

Gregoire said some 80,000 people had lost electric power across western Washington.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/12/ap_washingtonstorm_071204/