Devastating floods strike North America

Sumas, US: Residents of this small US city along the Canadian border were assessing damage from flooding that hit an estimated three quarters of homes, as Washington state and British Columbia tried to dry out from an intense, dayslong rain storm that cut off key roadways and forced hundreds of evacuations.

Skies were sunny Wednesday morning in the area around Sumas, Washington, where about 500 rescues and evacuations were reported. By Wednesday afternoon, only one river in western Washington had active flood warnings. While the weather was improving, the situation remained dire in British Columbia, where the Canadian government was sending in the military to help with floods and mudslides that destroyed parts of several major highways. One death was reported and officials said Wednesday that more deaths were expected. Immediately across the border from Sumas, police using helicopters and boats had evacuated about 180 residents of a flooded lowlying area. -(AP)