City of Snohomish opens it's Emergency Operations Center at the Fire District 4 headquarters. Corp of Engineers is also there. A notice on the door said that full sand bags were available at Ferguson Park and empty bags available in front of the annex. For further sand bagging help residents are encouraged to call the Snohomish County DEM 425-423-7635. -ST

DEM expects, prepares for major flooding throughout county.Flood levels on the Snohomish River at Monroe were slightly downgraded Wednesday, however, the Stillaguamish River at Arlington is expected to peak above record stage tonight.

Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management still expects significant flooding on all other rivers throughout the county.

Localized flooding already was occurring throughout the county early Wednesday morning including the Sultan River in Sultan and lowland areas of the Stillaguamish River and its forks.

DEM has been monitoring the Skykomish and Snohomish rivers at Gold Bar and Monroe respectively, with expectations that both will reach major flood stage during this weather event. In addition to river flooding, there is risk of rain-induced landslides.

"We are keeping a close eye on all rivers," said DEM Director John Pennington. "Public safety is our foremost goal during this event, and we feel prepared to handle this event." The National Weather Service forecasts call for 5 to 10 inches of rain throughout Snohomish County, creating the likelihood of flooding on all major river systems in the county Wednesday night through Thursday evening. Rivers should return normal levels by Friday.

Residents in low-lying areas  especially those cut off by flood waters in November 2006 and November 2008  should expect similar conditions. Those residents should prepare accordingly with supplies or consider voluntary evacuation until flood waters recede, which is expected Thursday evening.

The Skykomish River at Gold Bar is forecast to crest above flood stage at 4 p.m. today followed by crests on the Snohomish River in Monroe and Snohomish at 10 a.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Thursday respectively. The South Fork of the Stillaguamish River near Granite Falls and the North Fork near Arlington are expected to crest above flood stage near 10 p.m. tonight.

Residents needing sand or sandbags should contact their local fire departments for availablility. The Evergreen State Fairgrounds also is open for farm animals. Should flooding occur, citizens are urged to stay away from rising waters and not to drive through areas of flowing or standing water or around road-closure barriers.

Road flooding should be reported to the municipality where it occurs. Flooding on county roads can be reported to the Public Works Department at 425-388-7500 or contact.pwrm@snoco.org. Road closure lists and flood updates can be found at www.snoco.org. Additional flooding issues can be reported to Emergency Management at 425-388-5060.

Contributed by: Snohomish County