A farm is seen along the Snoqualmie River in Duvall, Wash., on Thursday Nov. 9, 2006. Heavy rain and flooding already blamed for three deaths in the Pacific Northwest washed out a major highway near Mount Hood, Oregon, and forced authorities to close 59 miles (95 kilometers) of road in Washington state. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)

Deadly storm wipes out road at Mt. Hood

PORTLAND, Ore. - Heavy rain and flooding already blamed for three deaths in the Pacific Northwest washed out a major highway near Mount Hood on Thursday and forced authorities to close 59 miles of road in Washington state.

The White River flowed over Oregon 35 on Mount Hood's eastern flank on Monday and Tuesday, cutting 20-foot-deep ruts through the pavement and sending boulders and trees rolling down the mountainside, said Bill Barnhart, an Oregon Department of Transportation manager.

Two creeks also wiped out a section of the same highway to the north, Barnhart said. Reopening the highway near Mount Hood is estimated to take $20 million.

The storms damaged hundreds of homes and broke rainfall records. At least three deaths were blamed on the flooding: two men swept into a Washington river and a 78-year-old woman found along the Oregon coast, where another woman was missing.

Rescue teams also continued to search for hunters who might be trapped in the southwest Washington hillsides between Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, officials said Thursday.

Floodwater from swollen creeks and rivers damaged roads and destroyed campgrounds at Mount Rainier National Park, closing it for the first time since 1980 when Mount St. Helens erupted. Superintendent Dave Uberuaga said it would be at least several weeks before the park reopens to visitors.

Washington authorities decided to shut down a stretch of the North Cascades Highway on Thursday because of concerns about the stability of the ground under the roadbed.

On Mount Hood, as much as a million cubic yards of rock, mud and sand covered a quarter-mile stretch of road, Barnhart said.

"None of us at ODOT or the U.S. Forest Service have ever seen it this bad," Barnhart said. "Our biggest concern right now is the safety of our workers."

There were no estimates when the highway would reopen. The same highway washed out in the summer of 2005.

More rain was expected Friday and over the weekend, but it was not expected to be as heavy, said forecaster Chris Burke of the National Weather Service. While river levels were dropping, some were still at flood stage, with recovery and damage assessment still days away.

Typhoon gathers strength off Philippines

MANILA (AFP) - Residents in the northern Philippines are bracing themselves for another battering two weeks after super typhoon Cimaron tore through the region leaving a trail of destruction and at least 19 dead.

As typhoon Chebi roared toward the Philippines on Friday flood and landslide alerts were raised along the eastern seaboard.

Chebi packing sustained winds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) an hour was expected to hit the town of Baler northeast of Manila early Saturday, the weather office said.

The eye of the cyclone was plotted 360 kilometers east of Baler at 4:30pm (0830 GMT).

The weather office warned residents of coastal areas on the east coast of the main island of Luzon of big waves as well as flashfloods and landslides.

Typhoon Cimaron, the strongest cyclone to hit the Philippines in more than 10 years, left 38 people dead or missing late last month.

About 300,000 people from some 10 provinces in northern Luzon island were affected while damage to agricultural crops and infrastructure amounted to more than 443 million pesos (8.86 million dollars).

Rosa weakens to tropical depression

MEXICO CITY - Rosa weakened to a tropical depression Thursday just hours after it formed as a tropical storm off Mexico's Pacific coast, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Rosa had 35 mph winds and was not expected to threaten land, the center said. It was roughly 215 miles southwest of Manzanillo and was moving north at 5 mph.

Iowa, Minnesota hit by band of heavy snow

DES MOINES (AP) — Heavy snow blanket parts of Iowa and Minnesota on Friday, closing and delaying some schools.
Northern Iowa got up to nine inches of snow, while Mankato, in southern Minnesota, reported 7 inches. Severe thunderstorms in eastern Iowa produced dime- and nickel-sized hail.

In the northeastern Iowa town of Emmetsburg, the snowfall came along with thunder and lightning, in a phenomenon called thundersnow, said Craig Cogil, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Johnston.

"We checked in up there and they had 3½ inches, and an hour later they had 7," he said.

The heavy snow was expected to begin breaking up by afternoon, Cogil said, but some area schools closed for the day or opened late because of the weather.

In Emmetsburg, residents were still busy, said Connie Boone, manager of a Casey's General Store.

"People are just as active because now they have to get out and shovel," she said.

The heavy snow passed south of the Twin Cities, which only got a few light flurries.