TUKWILA, Wash. (AP) — Emergency crews are actively working to shore up an earthen levee south of Seattle after it sustained damage due to heavy rains last week. This breach led authorities to issue an evacuation order for about 1,100 homes and businesses located in parts of Kent, Renton, and Tukwila.
Brendan McCluskey, the emergency management director for King County, reported that the initial evacuation alert affected around 47,000 individuals. However, the area of concern was later reduced to approximately 7,000 residents with no reported injuries.
Officials from Renton and Tukwila assessed that the flooding was mostly contained within small, industrial areas, hence no resident evacuations were necessary at that moment, but the levee situation remains critical.
The levee compromised is the Desimone levee by the Green River, an area officials had already been monitoring closely due to concerns of a potential breach. The heavy rainfall observed had already raised flood risks considerably, leading crews to install seepage blankets as a precaution against potential breaches.
While the breach has been temporarily controlled using sandbags, officials warn that the risk remains if water levels continue to rise. A section of the bike path along the levee was reported to have been damaged during the flooding.
In the wake of the crisis, local authorities continue to monitor weather conditions and advise the public on safety measures while ensuring that evacuations remain manageable.
This levee had previously faced challenges during flooding events in 2020, with long-term repairs projected to last until 2031. Historical repairs had been undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers due to earlier incidents from heavy rains in 2014, significantly impacting the levee's efficacy.
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This story has been updated to correctly reflect the areas impacted, clarifying that the affected cities are Tukwila, Kent, and Renton.
