Looking back: The record flood of November 2006

Twenty years ago this fall, the Puyallup River at Orting rose higher than it ever had before, or has since.

The storm

An atmospheric river, also called a "Pineapple Express", carried warm subtropical moisture from near Hawaii into Western Washington during the first week of November 2006. On November 6, the wettest day, Sea-Tac Airport recorded 3.29 inches of rain and Stampede Pass recorded 8.22 inches. Mount Rainier National Park got almost 18 inches in 36 hours. The National Weather Service counted 15 Western Washington rivers that reached all-time record crests.

At Orting

The U.S. Geological Survey gauge on the Puyallup River near Orting peaked on November 6, 2006 at 12.40 feet and 21,500 cubic feet per second. That beat the February 1996 flood (11.37 ft) and is still the gauge's highest peak on record. The Carbon River near Fairfax, upstream of town, also set its record that day: 16.93 feet and 14,500 cfs.

On November 7 the Seattle Times reported that many residents in Sumner, Orting and unincorporated Pierce County were evacuating. The Puyallup was still rising downstream and had broken through sandbags in Sumner. Sheriff's deputies and Tacoma police helped more than 45 people stranded along the river, and authorities rescued eight people whose vehicles had been swept down the Puyallup.

Upstream, the Carbon River partly or completely destroyed about two miles of the Carbon River Road inside Mount Rainier National Park. The flood closed the park for six months.

Federal help

On December 12, 2006, the President declared a major disaster for Washington (FEMA-1671-DR) for severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides from November 2 to 11, 2006. Pierce County residents were eligible for individual aid.

What changed

Pierce County finished the Puyallup River Setback Levee next to the Soldiers' Home in 2008. That project, started in 2002, replaced about 5,500 feet of old levee with a new 5,200-foot levee set farther back and gave the river about 68 acres of floodplain. The City of Orting then moved back the Calistoga Levee on the river's right bank, a project that ran from 2010 to 2015. It reconnected roughly 46 to 53 acres of floodplain and added about 100 acres of floodwater storage. State records put its total cost at about $18.7 million.

Sources

• USGS annual peak streamflow, Puyallup River near Orting (12093500)
• USGS annual peak streamflow, Carbon River near Fairfax (12094000)
• NWS Seattle: Seattle's Wettest Month and Record Flooding in Western Washington, November 2006
• Seattle Times (Nov. 6, 2006): Heavy rains flood houses, force evacuations (Pineapple Express)
• Seattle Times (Nov. 7, 2006): While some rivers recede, others still on the rise
• National Park Service: November 2006 Flood, Mount Rainier National Park
• White House (Dec. 12, 2006): President Declares Major Disaster for Washington
• FEMA DR-1671 initial notice
• WA RCO Salmon Recovery Portal: Puyallup River Setback Levee (01-1421)
• WA RCO Salmon Recovery Portal: Calistoga Setback Levee, Construction (10-1863)
• Puget Sound Partnership: Calistoga levee setback