Dec 15 (Reuters) – Levee breaches in Washington state have prompted flash flood warnings and evacuation orders after days of heavy rain, authorities said on Monday.
The National Weather Service said it issued a flash flood warning after the DeSimone Levee breached in Tukwila along the Green River, about five miles south of downtown Seattle. The department said floodwaters could flow toward Interstate 405, a major road, and evacuation notices were in effect for large swaths of King County, home to about 46,000 people.
“If you are in this area, please leave immediately,” the service wrote on social media.
“Conditions are dangerous and access routes may be lost at any time,” the National Weather Service wrote.
The Washington National Guard said it was sending National Guard members to King County. Over the weekend, the Guard had begun assisting residents affected by flooding in the western part of the state.
For days, authorities have been worried about levee failures around Washington state as torrential rains battered swaths of the Pacific Northwest.
The rain, triggered by a series of atmospheric river storms that suck large amounts of dense moisture from the ocean, swept inland across the Pacific Northwest, including parts of northern Idaho and western Montana, dumping more than 20 inches of rain in some areas over the course of a week.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by Donna Bryson and Nick Ziminski)