US News
Massive flooding across Washington state (Roundup)
By DPA
Nov 7, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Washington - Washington state continued to suffer heavy rain falls and flooding Tuesday as the region deals with what officials have described as the region's worst storm in 10 years.

A state of emergency was in place across 18 counties, but overflowing rivers were beginning to recede in the areas worst hit by record downpours Monday, as the storm moved over southern parts of the state. The National Weather Service predicted that milder rainfall would continue in parts of the state through to Friday.

The flooding prompted concern among analysts of low voter turnout in Tuesday's Congressional elections, especially in rural areas of the state. King Country closed two polling stations and three others in different counties were also at risk due to the flooding, the Seattle Times reported.

But some voters were undeterred, taking up the suggestion of officials to vote by provisional ballots at other polling stations.

'I'm on my way to vote ... I can see the road is closed south of me so I'm going north,' Pat O'Hanley, a retired high school teacher, told the Times. 'If I have problems, I'm going to find a police officer and demand he or she take me to a polling place.'