Federal assistance approved Friday is expected to help, but officials warned it could be days before people can return home.

Fidalgo DanceWorks will be presenting four performances of the Christmas classic ballet The Nutcracker at Brodniak Hall on the Anacortes High School campus this weekend.

It’s still unclear whether the federal government will step in to assist with what officials are describing as a “catastrophic” flood event.

Evacuate now orders have been issued for some areas of Mount Vernon, Burlington and Sedro-Woolley. 

Flooding upriver on the Skagit River has prompted the county to issue warnings to be ready to evacuate for the communities of Rockport, Hamilton, Marblemount, and Concrete.

As floodwaters swelled around Washington, threatening low-lying communities along rivers, Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a statewide emergency declaration