00:00Residents and emergency crews along Washington's Skagit River braced for possible levee failures
00:07on Friday as National Guard troops helped evacuate towns after days of severe flooding.
00:13The entire town of Burlington, home to about 9,200 people, was evacuated after the river
00:20hit a record 11.6 meters at nearby Mount Vernon.
00:24The situation is extremely unpredictable.
00:27We saw that in Burlington last night, where there was a situation where literally in the
00:31middle of the night, about 1,000 folks had to flee their homes in a really dire situation.
00:36It is very unpredictable.
00:37We encourage, of course, individuals to follow the orders from their local officials when
00:43it comes to evacuation orders.
00:45It's deeply important, not just for those individuals and their safety, but for the safety
00:50of first responders who are coming to rescue individuals who do not follow those evacuation
00:54orders.
00:55The Skagit River floodplain, home to about 78,000 people north of Seattle, was under
01:00a Level 3 evacuation, with statewide notices affecting 100,000.
01:06National Guard and sheriff's deputies assisted residents, some using rafts to rescue those
01:11stranded.
01:12Rains eased, but a flash flood warning remained downstream due to potential levee failures.
01:25Inflammant, the
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