Flooding hits Huazhou emergency road closure to evacuate residents

On Friday, the 20-mile-long interstate in southwestern Washington state was forced to close for several hours due to flooding.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Chehalis River was on Friday morning because of rain and snow and rising water levels, forcing the two-way closure of Interstate 5 in Lewis County, about 100 miles south of Seattle. Other highways have also been forced to close at risk of landslides and avalanches, including Nirudin State Routes 108, 109 and 507.

Residents of the Skokomish Gorge area in Mason County were notified Thursday of the surge in risk of flooding, asking them to evacuate immediately or take shelter in place for at least 72 hours.

By Friday afternoon, the situation in the area had improved and interstate roads had reopened as flooding "receded faster than expected," the Transportation Department said.

Flooding in the northwest is caused by excessive snowfall and rainfall. For much of the past few weeks, the Northwest has been plagued by rain and snow. In addition to flooding, this also leads to a significant increase in the risk of landslides and avalanches in the area.