When Water Takes Over: Families in Skagit County Face Flooding Challenges

In Skagit County, families are dealing with serious flooding along the Skagit River. The river reached a new high, but the flood wall in downtown Mount Vernon held strong. Now, the water is going down, but not fast enough for those who had to leave their homes. People from eastern communities along Highway 20 are waiting to see what damage the floodwaters left behind. Emergency shelters were set up at Concrete High School, Central United Methodist Church, and Bethany Covenant Church. At Central United Methodist Church, 48 people are staying after being forced out by the floods. Robert Gilkey and his family had to leave their home in Concrete. They saw water rising and quickly packed their car. Gilkey is worried because his family already lost their home in a fire last year. Security cameras show water covering his property, and he fears losing everything again. The floods caused many roads to close. Skagit County Public Works shut down 20 roads on Thursday, adding to the 41 closures from the day before. Amanda Davenport and her six children are also in a shelter. They have experienced floods before and know how bad it can get. This time, they prepared early and left before the evacuation alarms sounded. Davenport is worried about her home's electrical system, which could leave them displaced longer than expected. Even though the river didn't reach the expected record high, it was still very close to the 2021 flood levels. Davenport plans to wait until the weekend before checking on her home to make sure it's safe.