As the rain continued to fall on the 6th and 7th of January 2009, I decided to cross the Puyallup River at the 5th St Bridge. "Wow", I said to myself as I looked at the raging river, all colored in brown mud with full sized trees rushing downriver at about 20 knots. As I try to turn left on Main, there is a steady stream of traffic, which is so unusual. The checkout clerk at the grocery store tells me that Orting and Sumner are flooded and traffic is being diverted onto Main. I stop at Mrs Turner's to have lunch on Main St. The police come in handing out evacuations orders, stating the river is supposed to flood Main Street to 5th St during the night. Sumner and Orting had been flooded and evacuated. No wonder the traffic jam.
I finish my lunch and head home, stopping at the bridge to look at the river closer. Noting the river had crested the southern bank and was about to cover the walking path that goes down river to River Road 
past the K-Mart Shopping Center. They were sand bagging the apartments next to Fred Meyer. I put in calls to my Reiki friends and request distant Reiki treatments to be sent to the River and my condo.
past the K-Mart Shopping Center. They were sand bagging the apartments next to Fred Meyer. I put in calls to my Reiki friends and request distant Reiki treatments to be sent to the River and my condo.I get on my computer and go to the NOAA site to find out about the rivers which are flooding. You can track each river in the USA. I can see the only rivers which have reached flood stage are in Washington state. There are 7 out of over 4200 stations around the USA. This is good informat
ion. I look at the Puyallup River readings: It states flood stage is 30 ft and at 345pm it is 26.85 ft. The evening news and weather report is bad stating the Puyallup river has flooded downriver from me and many homes and mobile homes are under water. At 1000 PM I head back over to the bridge which is a block away. I'm wearing my heavy duty foul weather gear that Jean has given me from her Hawaii sailing days on Namaste, her 32ft. Gulf. The walking path is under water and the river is higher. I return home to check out the NOAA site. The height is 29.01. I send another Reiki treatment and fall asleep effortlessly. At 0300 I awake and check out the river height:28.98; it is falling, so I return to bed and fall quickly back to sleep. Having updated information and Reiki makes life very easy.....I'm certain I snoored the night away.
ion. I look at the Puyallup River readings: It states flood stage is 30 ft and at 345pm it is 26.85 ft. The evening news and weather report is bad stating the Puyallup river has flooded downriver from me and many homes and mobile homes are under water. At 1000 PM I head back over to the bridge which is a block away. I'm wearing my heavy duty foul weather gear that Jean has given me from her Hawaii sailing days on Namaste, her 32ft. Gulf. The walking path is under water and the river is higher. I return home to check out the NOAA site. The height is 29.01. I send another Reiki treatment and fall asleep effortlessly. At 0300 I awake and check out the river height:28.98; it is falling, so I return to bed and fall quickly back to sleep. Having updated information and Reiki makes life very easy.....I'm certain I snoored the night away.Afternoon on the 8th, I drive around and can see the flooding downriver which is significant. The river did not crest River Road, however it flooded a creek which flows under the roadway ca
using that to flood into the neighborhood of houses and mobile homes. The pictures below are all from the 5th St Bridge, one block from my condo.
using that to flood into the neighborhood of houses and mobile homes. The pictures below are all from the 5th St Bridge, one block from my condo.
The water was up to the deck flooring of this little cabin on the river, but the house barely missed getting flooded.At the time of this writing 9 Jan 09 the river is at 21.82 feet at 1045hrs, the sun is out and many towns and cities are drying out. My old summer excursion town of Clatskanie, OR flooded. I'm happy to live on somewhat higher ground and feel grateful that my beautiful condo is high and dry. Many were not as fortunate. The Columbia River is 12 ft above normal near St. Helens, OR. Interstate 5 is still closed near Centralia (a 20 mile stretch) and may be reopened this afternoon. With this being closed I can't get to Shatoosh, but will check on her as soon as I can.
11 Jan 2009: the Puyallup River is now at 18 ft. Pre rain the river level was 12 ft. I forgot to give everyone the web site that I have been using. www.weather.gov/ahps: On this map you can see all of the river weather sites. Click on your local area and select your river. I am leaving the link on the right sidebar at the top of the page.
14 Jan 2009: The river is now at 16.56 ft.
18 Jan 2009: The river is at 13.61 ft at o845.
27 Jan 2009:The river is now at 12.5 ft., which is the level of the river at pre-flooding.
