Flooding in My Home Town Area

By hometown I mean the town I grew up in, Longview, Washington. And though I currently live near Phoenix, Oregon, I'm visiting my Mom this month in Longview. The following pictures are from this slideshow of pics on The Longview Daily News web site. There is another slideshow here of pics submitted to The Longview Daily News by readers. Both slideshows contain pictures from all over the flood and mudslide affected areas of Washington state. Some of the shots are mind-blowing.

A Department of Corrections sandbagging crew shores up the Coweeman River dike at the Grade Street sewage pump station Wednesday. Bill Wagner / The Daily News

The swollen Coweeman River churns and glistens as it passes beneath the Grade Street Bridge in Kelso as sandbagging crews shore up the South Kelso dike under floodlights Wednesday night. Bill Wagner / The Daily News

Kelso High School security officer Tara Garcia-Fromdahl looks at a car in high water in front of the school Wednesday morning. The parent was able to get out of the car safely earlier when the water was even higher. Pumps were working to remove the high water. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News

Kelso and Longview are sometimes called The Twin Cities. They are on either side of the Cowlitz river as it meets the Colombia River. The Coweeman River flows into the Cowlitz on the other side of Kelso. The local mall, The Three Rivers Mall is beside the Coweeman and was evacuated this afternoon.

Castle Rock swift water rescue team members Stu Hodnot, left, and Maria Schuh, rear, use a kayak to bring Stacy Burnett, 28, out of the flooded Westover Drive neighborhood near Nevada Drive on Wednesday afternoon. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News

I'm pretty sure the Nevada Drive they are talking about is here in Longview and if so it is not far from us in the part of town that is north of Ocean Beach Highway and west of Lake Sacajewea.

Phil Ranta of the Cowlitz County Road Department walks through flooded Pacific Way in the 4200 block Wednesday. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News

We're on the 2000 block of Pacific Way so this is practically in the neighborhood.

Martin's Dock at Lake Sacajewea was submerged Wednesday afternoon. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News

The north end of this lake is about three blocks from us. This dock is at about the midpoint of the length of the lake. This is the area where the audience sits for concerts and July 4rth fireworks.