KENTāGovernor Bob Ferguson outlined ongoing flood risks Saturday amid a historic deluge from atmospheric rivers, announcing the mobilization of 100 National Guard members to patrol strained levees while warning of a moderate chance for additional breaches despite receding waters.
“The risk of another breach has most certainly come down in the past week,” Ferguson said. “But it is still being described to us as moderate. In other words, the risk of a breach is still real.”
Gov. Ferguson pledges to talk with federal partners as a full damage assessment of the levee system in the impacted areas cannot performed until flood waters drain. Another atmospheric river looms around Dec. 28.
“We don’t yet know what the damage to the levee system is until the waters recede,” Ferguson said,
Joined by King County Executive Girmay Zahilay and Col. Kathryn Sanborn of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Kent Armory, Ferguson described the crisis as an “extremely unpredictable situation,” with weather and debris adding to the uncertainty.
The state is deploying four swift water rescue teamsātwo from the Department of Fish and Wildlife and two localāto replace a departing California unit, doubling capacity. A second strike team will enable simultaneous breach repairs, complementing King County’s team that fixed the Pacific site. Washington State Department of Transportation equipment, such as two loaders, eight dump trucks and 600 super sacks, is also aiding efforts.
As a precautionary measure to leave breaches, Gov. Ferguson mobilized the National Guard to the Green, White, and Cedar rivers to monitor levees for 24/7 levee patrols, even on Christmas, he said.
“We intend to have spotters on the levee system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Ferguson said. “That means Christmas Eve. That means Christmas Day.”
King County Executive Zahilay echoed Gov. Ferguson sharing that the levees along the Green, Cedar, and White rivers are under tremendous stress.
“The levees have never experienced before the amount of saturation they’re experiencing for the duration that they are experiencing it,” Zahilay said. “There remains a moderate level of risk of levees breaching, especially with another weather system approaching us here later next week.”
Zahilay shared that the county has mobilized flood patrols on the Green, White and Cedar rivers, cross-training 35 Guard troops to conduct inspections, carrying out drone surveillance over the Cedar and Snoqualmie rivers, and is staging sand, rock and sandbags.
Col. Sanborn praised the Corps’ dams for averting catastrophe, with Howard A. Hansen Dam storing record volumes to prevent five extra feet of water in the Green River at Auburn.
“That would have overtopped nearly all the levees,” Col. Sanborn said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is repairing 11 levees in northern counties, of which nine are complete, and have loan equipment to Pacific to support flood response efforts.
King County residents are encouraged to visit kingcounty.gov/floodrecovery for cleanup information, kcemergency.com for updates, and to sign up for Alert King County at kingcounty.gov/alert. The Flood Warning Center at 206-296-8200 (toll-free 800-945-9263) provides 24-hour river data and sandbag information.
Washington stateās levee network stretches just over 700 miles, with Snohomish County topping the list at 104.8 miles, followed by Skagit at 103.1, King at 66.7, Cowlitz at 65.93 and Wahkiakum at 63.64. The state Department of Ecology manages oversight through its Flood Hazard Management Program, including funding via the Flood Control Assistance Account Program, while local flood control districts and counties handle operations with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assistance.
Saturdayās press conference comes as the state grapples with widespread flooding that has already caused two levee breaches in Tukwila and Pacific, though no lives were lost in those incidents. However, one death did occur in Snohomish County after his vehicle entered floodwaters on the evening of December 16.
Earlier this week, Ferguson directed $3.5 million in emergency funds to assist Washingtonians with relief and recovery. Days earlier on December 12, President Doanld J Trump signed Fergusonās request for an emergency declaration.
The Pacific Northwest averages 10 to 15 atmospheric rivers yearlyānarrow bands of warm, moist air delivering heavy precipitation, often amplified by La NiƱa’s cooler, wetter patterns. Recent storms from December 9 to 19 dumped over nine million acre-feet of water on western Washington, more than three times Lake Washington’s volume, though the tally excludes total regional rainfall.
Impacts included floods in Skagit, Snohomish and King counties; landslides in King, Skagit and Whatcom; widespread road closures throughout the state; and power outages affecting over a quarter-million people. Winds gusted to 71 mph on Whidbey Island, 82 mph at Snoqualmie Pass and 112 mph at Alpental Ski Area.
Author: Mario Lotmore
