The Flood of 2007 Chehalis, WA, USA Photo Gallery by Jim Thode at pbase.com

The Flood of 2007 Chehalis, WA, USA

The flood of 2007. Reported to be the highest recorded flood in Chehalis and areas west. No lose of human life has been reported in Lewis County but apparently hundreds of farm animal have been lost. Many homes and businesses flooded and many roads closed. All vehicle and rail transportation on the west coast of Washington state has been stopped.

S Fork of the Newaukum	S Fork of the Newaukum	S Fork of the Newaukum	Shorey Rd
Shorey Rd	Shorey Rd	Chehalis River Valley	Rail line with silage bales at 603 and Twin Oaks
Rail line with silage bales	Repaired rail line, May 2009	Rail line with silage bales	Rail line with silage bales
Rail line looking east from 603	Repaired rail line, May 2009	HWY 603	HWY 603, May 2009
Twin Oaks Rd	Looking south on 1-5	Plastic tanks	A northbound kayak on I-5
Uhlmann's Ford and Toyota	Modular Houses	The boat to Wal Mart	Loading the boat
Loading water salvaged from Wal Mart	Chamber Way	Wal Mart Parking lot, 2' reported in the store	Looking South on 1-5
North bound 1-5	Chehalis sign	Mainline RR on west coast of US	Lumber on car
Lumber Yard

comment |

Guest		14-Oct-2008 19:25
coming from Iowa and all the flooding that went on this year there , I understand what these fine people are going thru.It sucks. but one good thing is I hope no one lost their lives over this .

niki		16-Feb-2008 22:55
I am so glad that I live out of the way from all of the flooding. But it's crazy. My brother lived on plesant valley and his cars were under water. Bt you took some great pictures.

mike reno		04-Jan-2008 17:49
my buddy jim scott at bud clary chevrolet sent me this link. as a long time washington resident that now lives in georgia it pains me to see the damage that this has done and we all wish you the best in recovering and over coming these obsticles. wishing you all the best from the fast auto transfers family.

Dee Mills		01-Jan-2008 23:27
Hi Paul: Sounds like you know what we are going through. You have also been through it. We are currently in for a high wind watch. I live in Lewis Co. WA, and a Town named Cinebar (about 30 miles from here) had a gust of wind at 80 miles per hour. So far the wind has not hit here yet. But if it does hit it should be over by 10:00 PM. Have a Very Happy New Year. Thanks for your comments. Dee

Paul Maisenbach		21-Dec-2007 04:33
Jim Thode, you did a great job taking these pictures. The people in Humboldt county California) know very well what the people in the Chehalis area are going through. In 1964 we suffered the same kind of devastation. The town I live in (Eureka) was mostly spared from damages, because we were far enough away from the rivers and on higher ground, but all the smaller towns by the rivers were devastated. It took some time to recover, but they were returned to what they were. If people work together they can over come disasters such as this. I wish all these people the best of luck.

Randy		20-Dec-2007 04:39
The photos are great, it allows people to see what it is really like, all you hear is stories, pictures are worth a 1000 words. I work in Everett, I one of the state workers helping out. I working my extra hours doing the normal work that my fellow workers in Chehalis, Alberdeen, South Bend, Olympia are not able to do because of the work they are doing for the emergency needs of the citizens that lost a little to a lot because of the floods. I lived through typhoons, hurricanes, and the floods associated with both I know that it is not fun. Im praying for all of you. You are strong and will survive.

Karen		19-Dec-2007 07:50
I work for the welfare office and are processing the DFAP (disaster food assistance program) applications that are coming in. DSHS is saying open until 8 pm and on the weekends. Staff are pulling 13 hr days across the state to make sure clients and those in the disaster areas are getting help. These HAVE to be the best photos I have seen and thank you for not putting piccies of the dead animals here. People in the area are going down and helping total strangers. Amazing how the guy that would have shot you yesterday is helping you dig out of the mud today. For those of you not in the area, this is devastating and something never experienced here. Thank you to the rest of the country that are sending items and making donations to the Red Cross, etc. You don't even know how much, unless you've been there, this means to the survivors.

June		10-Dec-2007 04:27
I can't even tell you how much it meant to me to see these pictures...Because we were in a "Cody Yellow" (couldn't leave the hospital) mode at work, was totally in the dark about what was going on outside that building...We didn't have much access to TV's, or news... Awsome presentation... Thank you.. June Painter

Chris and Bettie		08-Dec-2007 22:57
I feel guilty when i clean the house that is clean and dry.I know how awful it is to have everything wet and dirty.All of those people are on my mind so much.

Guest		08-Dec-2007 17:31
Awesome Photos! Thank you! Just A solid reminder that we should never take anything for granted as the unexpected is just that and can happen at anytime, to anyone anywhere.

Dee Mills		08-Dec-2007 02:04
Cheryl, if you lived by the Ohio River you really do know what flooding is all about. Here in WA State, water levels are dropping. I had UPS deliver packages today. Some of the boxes were damp. UPS is in the flood zone. I don't know if their facility flooded or perhaps the UPS trucks got some flooding. The pictures are certainly nicely presented and represents some of the most worst scenes. You live in Connecicut correct? Do you have flooding there, high winds, etc. Thanks for thinking of us in WA State. Dee

Cheryl Grube		08-Dec-2007 01:35
Wow, the power of water....I lived on the Ohio river for years, so I've seen alot of floods. Hope you all get cleaned up soon. Great pics.

Lori L		07-Dec-2007 20:11
Living in the area in the 70's, all that new development was hay fields in the summer and flood plain in the winter. The water stayed where it was intended! But the all mighty dollar and greedy county leaders did what they thought 'best' and went ahead and filled in the flood plain which dispersed all the water into the surrounding areas including I-5... and now the county leaders are trying to blame the Army Corps of Engineers, etc. Thanks for the opportunity to vent....

Charles Javorsky		07-Dec-2007 18:58
Grew up at Onalaska during 30's and 40's. How is old highway99 doing? Spent many golf days at riverside and airport area. Send some rain to N.M.

Veronica in TX		07-Dec-2007 05:43
Amazing pictures, crazy how powerful water is. Our prayers are with everyone affected. Thank goodness there has been no loss of human lives. Take care everyone. Ciao

Dy		07-Dec-2007 02:47
I agree with Jason J., they built the Miracle Mile for building malls, car lots, super centers, etc. on and insted of using THAT designated property, they build over there in the flood plain. I also agree that the county and cities (Centralia/Chehalis) should be ashamed of what they have done. Instead of spending money on dikes to keep their residents safe, they build "foofoo" brick roads to make downtown 'pretty'...not like any tourists go there anyway. They should be ashamed

Jason J		06-Dec-2007 23:27
Jim, excellent photos man. I live in south Chehalis up on the hill and have missed two days of work because of the I-5 closure. Where they were building the "New" I-5 Toyota got completely wiped out and railing is sitting on the freeway. Guess it wasn't smart to build over there where it "Floods". My wife and I are both disgusted at what the city and county are letting people get away with. It's all about the money to them unfortunately. Once again, thanks for the pictures.

Peggy Roege		06-Dec-2007 14:42
I use to live in Chehalis, my heart goes out the people during this horrible time. I hope the clean-up will go very quickly and the homeless flood victims are taken care of and safe. Thank you for sharing the photos, it gives others an opportunity to see what's going on in the local community.

Monte Dodge		06-Dec-2007 14:27
NIce work! They cut every stick of wood up the Skookumchuck over inches 4inches thick and same with the Chehelis River Drainage. Now when we get a few inches of rain , we have a ' 100 Year Flood" every 5 years. Then we filled in all the places water use to go and built stupid things like say " A Walmart"... Best part of this flood was seeing Wallyworld take a hit...... Your photos are quite good and do good justice to the flooding... Voted

Dale MacKeown		06-Dec-2007 06:15
Amazing work Jim, it is just so sad.

Dee Mills		06-Dec-2007 05:23
You did a great job with photography and covering the Chehalis area. I understand that Interstate 5 is not stable because water is bubbling up the asphalt. Other problems are that a farmer lost 500 of his cattle, and they are laying by the road. What a mess this flood has been. Thank you so much for sharing the photo's with all of us. I did not go into the area, so I am stunned at the water levels and damage.

Rich Westfall		06-Dec-2007 05:03
Full wrath of nature here. Powerful images Jim. Hope you and yours are safe.

John		06-Dec-2007 01:11
I canoed from Chehalis, north on National Ave, to help secure my friends flooded bowling center. "Fairway Lake" was strangely serene and beautiful. Great photos.

Guest		05-Dec-2007 21:31
nice job on the photos, but it is so sad, a lot of people are homeless I'm sure...

Guest		05-Dec-2007 20:08
Wow! Great photography Sandy. Thanks for sharing this with us and thankfully no loss of lives.

Jo Connolly		05-Dec-2007 18:46
Wow! I saw the Walmart picture on t.v. last night in bed and thought about Sandy and Gary. Was going to e-mail you today to see if they are o.k. Glad they live on a hill!

Guest		05-Dec-2007 17:34
Wow, that's I-5 submerged? Whoa. Good documentary gallery.

Ron Crain		05-Dec-2007 17:13
Wonderful gallery Jim

Suzette A Paduano		05-Dec-2007 12:47
What a shame, Good shots and thans for sharing!!

Guest		05-Dec-2007 11:42
Very devastating for some, no doubt...but you did a fine job with the photography.

Guest		05-Dec-2007 07:46
Nice job, poor people.. thanks for sharing this series.. nice job.

Tim Amo		05-Dec-2007 07:28
Wow, thank you for the posting. Its so sad

click on thumbnails for full image

Type your message and click Add Comment

It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest. Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help	private comment