THE COLD-HEARTED BASTARD CHRISTIAN GOD, BUSY AS USUAL, CAUSING DEATH AND DESTRUCTION - 593

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/11/06/washington.flooding.ap/index.html

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- A windy Pacific storm dumped heavy rain Monday

on western Washington, killing at least one person, prompting warnings of

record flooding and forcing rescues by the National Guard.

A 20-year-old elk hunter from Seattle died when his pickup truck was swept

into the Cowlitz River south of Mount Rainier, authorities said.

Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency for 18 counties,

authorizing the National Guard to activate and the state Emergency

Management Division to coordinate assistance.

Guardsmen were sent late Monday to eastern Skagit County near the Canadian

border, with the Skagit River expected to reach record levels, to rescue an

unknown number of people, said county spokesman Don McKeehen.

Those rescued had not heeded a recommendation to evacuate before waters

blocked their escape route from several small towns near Concrete, McKeehen

said.

Officials at Mount Rainier National Park, which had more than 10 inches of

rain in the 24 hours ending Monday afternoon, closed the main park road,

turned visitors away and sent employees home early via the only exit road

open.

"We want to prevent visitors getting trapped inside the park. The road is

vulnerable to washouts in several key places, and there is only one way

out," superintendent Dave Uberagua said.

A sheriff's helicopter in Snohomish County, just north of Seattle, rescued

several transients stranded on a sandbar where they had been camping. More

than 100 students at an environmental camp in southwest Washington were

evacuated, for fear that high water would cut access to the camp.

About 200 to 225 elk hunters were evacuated Monday from hunting camps near

the Cowlitz River, where McDonald died, said Lewis County Sheriff Steve

Mansfield.

The body of Andy McDonald was recovered late Monday when his truck was

pulled from the water.

The National Weather Service warned officials in Skagit County -- where the

Guard performed its rescues -- to expect worse conditions than in 2003, when

flooding caused $17 million in property damage in Concrete and 3,400

households were evacuated, he said.

The warm-weather rainstorms, propelled by air currents from Hawaii in a

pattern called the Pineapple Express, could cause flooding of record

proportions, the weather service said. Several rivers had already jumped

their banks.

As of early Monday afternoon, Stampede Pass on the Cascade crest east of

Seattle had more than 8 inches of rain in the previous 24 hours, while

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport recorded nearly 4 inches. Most rivers

were expected to crest Tuesday.