Editorial Comment: Marianne Lincoln

I know we are still in the middle of this rain event in Washington State, but I have to comment.

Since the mid 1990’s, I have travelled around Pierce County and taken photos of flooding. Occasionally, I jump into my sister’s Cessna 172, and she does the flying while I take photos. This year was no different. Happily, I went out on Tuesday, before the flooding was so bad the roads were closing in South Prairie, Orting and Sumner.

I post a lot of these photos on a Facebook page called Pierce County Washington Public Flooding Updates/photos. I learned recently that Pierce County Public Works has known about the page and follows it. You can find flooding from previous years there also.

What I really want to say is a big thank you. The weather warnings on TV, social media, & radio, the emergency services, the National Guard, the Counties, Cities, and other agencies like WSDOT, have all been cooperating in this flooding emergency.

It seems to me that there has been a very well-coordinated messaging and response campaign and as rough as this event has been, it seems to be well handled.

The photos have been amazing from drones, from pilots, and regular folks on the ground. TV coverage Thursday morning focused on the potential peak flooding instead of cutting to the national TV shows.

Overall, considering this was a massive and record-breaking event, everyone is pitching in and handling as best as they can. Granted, there was sufficient warning and not flash flooding catching people unprepared. You all deserve a pat on the back. Then, soon, we get to clean this mess up.