Governor Ferguson declares statewide emergency as historic flooding threatens Western Washington

Governor Bob Ferguson signed a statewide emergency declaration Wednesday in response to intense flooding across Washington, saying the action will allow the state to seek federal funds and provide flexibility to protect lives and property.

The declaration, Ferguson said, is intended to unlock federal life‑safety and emergency protective measures and additional resources. "I just signed a statewide emergency declaration in response to the intense flooding Washington state and Washingtonians are experiencing this week," Ferguson said, and added the state was in frequent contact with the National Weather Service, FEMA Region 10 and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

State officials said they will ask FEMA Region 10 for an expedited federal emergency declaration in a scheduled 2 p.m. call. "We need the federal government to grant that request. This is critical," Ferguson said, emphasizing that federal approval would allow access to resources the state says are necessary to support evacuations, rescues and sheltering.

Major General Gent Welch, who introduced himself as commander of the Washington National Guard and director of the Washington Military Department, described the situation as "historic" and detailed a planned surge of Guard personnel to support local response operations. "By the end of tonight, when the sun goes down, you will have over 100 Washington National Guard members surge to help local communities. And by the end of the day tomorrow, you'll have over 300 ready to go," Welch said, adding the deployment would include aviators and personnel trained for rescue operations.

State emergency operations leadership said the state emergency operations center is staffed around the clock and coordinating with county and tribal partners. Officials warned that multiple rivers across Western Washington are at moderate to major flood stages and could rise further in coming days. Director Robert DeSalle said the Skagit River is expected to exceed its 1990 recorded flood level "by about 4 feet upriver and in the Mount Vernon, Arlington area, by at least a foot," and that local authorities were preparing to evacuate roughly 75,000 residents in low‑lying areas.

Officials cautioned that levees on several rivers may be overtopped and cited early reports of a flood wall in Arlington being at risk; state personnel also reported localized road closures and communities temporarily cut off by high water. DeSalle said more than a dozen local emergency operation centers were activated and several counties had issued disaster declarations with sheltering operations underway.

In a question‑and‑answer session, a reporter noted a prior federal denial of assistance for a separate storm event and asked whether that affected the state's approach. Ferguson acknowledged the prior denial and reiterated the urgency of gaining federal approval for the current request, saying lives will be at stake in the coming days and that the state will provide FEMA with detailed information to support the expedited request. When asked whether the system should be described as life‑threatening, Ferguson said yes, citing the number of residents who may face evacuation orders.

The governor said he will visit impacted communities as soon as it is appropriate, and pledged to keep the public updated about the federal request and ongoing response operations. "When we get a response from the federal government, we, of course, will... let you all know as soon as possible," he said.

Next steps: the state will press FEMA Region 10 for expedited assistance, continue National Guard and state agency deployments, and maintain public alerts and sheltering operations as river levels evolve.