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Floodwaters continued gushing from rivers throughout Southwest Washington Thursday, swamping major highways and isolating entire communities.

Tens of thousands of residents have been urged to evacuate -- some have taken the advice, some haven't.

Kristian Foden-Vencil took a drive up I-5 from Portland to Kalama, finding out how people are dealing with the flooding. He joins us live in the studio. Good afternoon Kristian.

Kristian: Hi Beth.

Beth: So, where have you been and how are people doing?

Kristian:   Well, my first stop was Woodland, Washington, which is only about 40 miles north of Portland. They weren't too badly hit, but the Lewis River did flood its banks. If you've ever driven that way, there's a small municipal airport. It was flooded along with all the airplane hangers.  I met Herbert Malish, who was checking his son's plane.

Herbert Malish: "He called me from Alaska yesterday. He has a plane here. He said, go down and help them move it. Because we think itís going to flood. Well, when I came down here, they were all moved. And that was last night. Yes, somebody was a good Samaritan and moved all the planes."

Kristian:  Just as well, because the hangers were all underwater.

As I drove north, the Columbia River was swollen with muddy brown water and branches and debris littered side roads.

The Washington Department of Transportation estimates it has had to close about 60 roads -- including a 20 mile stretch of the I-5.

It'll probably remain closed for at least the rest of today. About 55,000 vehicles use that stretch of the I-5 on an average day, including about 10,000 trucks.

Paula Hammond, Washington's Transportation Secretary says that alone will cost about the state about $4 million for each day it's closed.

Beth: So, what was the next town you came to?

Kristian: I was planning to go further north, but I stopped at Kalama. And right on the exit there's a motor home park called 'Camp Kalama.'

It was underwater. You could see the chocolately water running through their main office and the shop.

Retiree, Michael Murphy, says he's lucky. He spent yesterday unhooking his sewer, water and electricity to move his home.

Michael Murphy: "We got out yesterday, just in time. And the last lady that got out, she was parked just behind this building and she just got out."

Kristian: "How many families had to move?"

Michael Murphy: "At least 20."

Kristian: "And where are you parked and how long are you going to be there for?"

Michael Murphy: "Right now we're at the Port of Klama, there's at least 20 motor homes and trucks and trailers there. There's not power or water there, but at least we're on high, dry ground."

Kristian: "And how long do you think you're going to be there?"

Michael Murphy: "I hope only a few days. But then there's going damage and all the septics have to be pumped out. It's going to be a while."

Kristian: He's lived in the park for 17 years and remembers the floods of 1996. He says this flood may not have been quite as high, but it came up very quickly.

After speaking with Murphy I followed the Kalama River upstream a little to see what else was going on. There were several million-dollar homes damaged, while their neighbors, on ground just one, or two feet higher, were untouched.

Then I found a whole street of maybe a dozen homes that had been fighting the water.  Here's Yarl Peterson, a firefighter for Vancouver.

Yarl Peterson: "At about noon we had water just lapping out of the river. Within a couple of hours the street looked just like a river. By 10 o'clock last night there was water up to the door jams. Me and a neighbor, we pumped water out of our crawl spaces last night and it looked like we saved our homes."

The Kalama River was definitely dropping this afternoon, other rivers are around crest stage but they're expected to drop significantly over the next 24 hours.

It was interesting because this neighborhood had been badly hit by flooding in 1996 and I'd estimate about half the homeowners had spent the $20,000 to $50,000 necessary to raise their homes above flood level -- so only their garages got wet.

Bob Dougherty has lived here 25 years.

Bob Dougherty: "My daughter wanted me to live, so I went to stay in a motel for the night and then came back today to see how things were. The way I have it set up if floods in and I can leave everything closed up so nobody can even steal anything. Then the water will receed. I can go in and clean it up.

Kristian: "You've got your own power washer?"

Bob Dougherty: "Yeah, I've go my own power washer, and wash it down, it'll be some work but it's not a big deal. It's a lot better than 1996 when you've got to rebuild everything."

Beth: The weather folks are forecasting some dry days ahead, eh? 

Kristian: Yes, a nice long break in the weather. So no rain for about four or five days.

Flooding in Southwest Washington

Video tour by Kristian Foden-Vencil/OPB News