The Daily Alaska empire., 1949-11-28
WIND,RAIN, FL00D5 IN
 PACIFIC NV
In Faet Northern Half of Nation Is Hif-Mdny
 Killed in Storm

BULLETIN--SEATTLE, Nov. 28 The fertile Skagit valley in north- ern Washington State binced for another serious flood threat today after a weekend storm had claimed g lives in the Pacific northwest.
 The storm shot across north Idaho and Mon,nna during the night and then lost much of It's punch as it vcered north into Manitoba, Canada.
 Fourteen of the victims died in British Columbia. Property damage throughout the storm ar'. was estimated in the mill Iions of dollars, with Washington State the hardest hit.
 SEATTLE, Nov. Battered and reeling, the Pacific Northwest fought today against the peril of flood in the wake of a violent wind md rain storm that left Is known dead as it slugged halfway across he northern half of the nation.
 Damage already was in the mil- ions of dollars.
 The storm whipped across North Idaho and Montana with gusts of hurricane force, and veered north during the night. The weather bu- eau at Bismarck, ND, reported the storm hit Manitoba. Canada, today instead of moving into the Central Plains States.
 Peak wind velocity was reported yesterday from Gut Bank. Mont. where gusts registered l05 mp.h.
 1000 MILE FRONT
 The storm struck on a 1000 mile front Saturday-from British Co., .rmbia into oregon.
 Hardest hit was Washington state. Hundreds of families were evacuated as the rolled waters of he ,skagit river in northwest Washington isolated five towns in the Skagit valley. Four other com- nlunities were threatened as five inches of rain fell during 24- hour span in the upper valley.
 At Mount Vernon, residents and ain-drenched sandbag crews Of from 3o0-up men kept their fingers f.guratively crossed as the normally placid Skagit reached 26 o5 feet -arely foot below the top of the c.ty's dikes.
 RAINS SWELLING RIVER
 At 5 am. (PST), w. R. Whitnall of tho Skagit County Engineers office reported the river had risen only half an inch in the last three hours but heavy rains were said to be falling upstream at Concrete. Whitnall said if the river continued at the 26-foot level it was feared the dikes might soften and burst.
 Water lay six to eight inches deep over eight square blocks of the city which lies about six feet ! elow the level of the river. Mer- chants moved their store goods to second-story levels.
 250 EVACUATED
 Approximately 250 persons were evacuated by Army and Coast Guard crews from nearby Hamilton.
 Across Puget Sound on the Olympia peninsula. flood waters re- ceded in the Skokomish river val- ley after forcing 50 to 60 farm families to flee. Several bridges were washed out.
 Seattle and King county escaped relatively unscathed although util- ity poles. trees and high tension wires were leveled Saturday night and early Sunday. A Is to 20 foot section of tlacktop street collapsed at a main thoroughfare to West Seattle.
 SLIDES IN BC
 The British Columbia coast was isolated from the southern interior of the province as slides covered the Fraser canyon highway and rains washed out wide section of the new s12.000,o0O Hope-Prince- ton highway two miles east of Summit, BIG. A dredge carrying s2o,000 in placer gold was torn from its moorings by logs and debris and piled up in twisted wreckage near Princeton
 Seven persons died in British Columbia. six when their tugboat capsized off Victoria and one when he was swept into the raging Capi- lano river.