Pacific Northwest faces some of its worst flooding in decades this week

Forecasters on Wednesday warned of the possibility for “catastrophic flooding” in western Washington, with some rivers projected to reach record levels in coming days, as a storm parked over the Pacific Northwest unleashed yet another day of heavy rain.

Tens of thousands of people living along some areas of the Skagit and Snohomish rivers, which flow from the Cascade Range into Puget Sound along the Pacific Ocean, were told to get ready to evacuate, as the area prepared for what could be some of its worst flooding in decades. Evacuation orders were in place for some residents along the Puyallup River, just southeast of Tacoma.

Gov. Bob Ferguson of Washington signed an emergency declaration Wednesday afternoon and said he thought federal assistance would be necessary to “help save lives a