TUKWILA, Wash. (AP) — Crews used sandbags to shore up an earthen levee south of Seattle on Monday after a small section of it failed following a week of heavy rains, prompting an evacuation order covering parts of three suburbs, officials reported.
The evacuation order from King County in Washington state was sent to about 1,100 homes and businesses east of the Green River in parts of Kent, Renton, and Tukwila, said Brendan McCluskey, the county's emergency management director. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning that initially covered nearly 47,000 people but was later reduced to 7,000.
No injuries have been reported, and authorities stated that flooding was largely confined to small industrial areas.
Rental authorities said Monday afternoon there were still no resident evacuations. The levee breach came after days of heavy rains that also caused widespread rescues throughout western Washington state.
The failure happened on the Desimone levee, where officials had previously expressed concerns about possible breaches, according to John Taylor, director of the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks.
As water levels rose, workers began installing a “seepage blanket,” a permeable material intended to reduce flood risks. This system was active when the breach occurred. The spokesperson for Renton, Laura Pettitt, mentioned that the breach was minimal and becoming controlled with the aid of large sandbags.
“What we understand is that the area is being managed and the breach has been controlled,” she said but noted that changing conditions could still impact the area.
The levee had been previously damaged during the floods of 2020, with long-term repairs not expected until 2031. Historical flooding structures are under constant monitoring, especially with rising concerns around maintenance and weather impacts in the region.
