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 said.
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 reduced within a few hours to an area covering 7,000 people.
No one was injured, McCluskey said.
Authorities in Renton and Tukwila noted that the flooding was primarily confined to small, industrial areas, and no residents were being evacuated.
The levee breach followed days of heavy rain and flooding that inundated communities, forced the evacuations of tens of thousands of people and prompted numerous rescues throughout western Washington state.
Officials had been monitoring the levee closely, raising concerns about potential breaches as the saturated conditions persisted.
While the breach is being controlled, weather officials emphasize that ongoing monitoring and management of the situation is necessary to minimize future risks.
