People in low-lying areas of Tukwila should move to higher ground immediately after a levee break on the Green River.
As of 2:30 p.m., KIRO 7 has confirmed that temporary repairs to the breach have been completed and are being put on hold.
The city of Tachira has issued a Level 1 “Ready” evacuation order, requiring the evacuation of the larger area beyond the breach.
“Conditions may change suddenly and without warning. The city is encouraging people to ‘be prepared’ to leave the flood-prone Southcenter area, the West Valley Hwy area and the east side of Interurban Ave South (north of I-405 and north of Foster Golf Course) on short notice. Conditions may worsen and access routes may be restricted,” the city said.
The affected area in Tukwila is a business park in the southeast corner of Tukwila. The affected area extends to Kent and Renton.
No residential apartments or homes in Tukwila were affected.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Seattle issued a flash flood warning in the early afternoon due to a failure of the DeSimone Levee along Todd Avenue.
It initially covered nearly 47,000 people, but within hours was reduced to an area covering 7,000 people.
Gov. Bob Ferguson said online: “If you are in the area, please leave immediately. Conditions are dangerous and access may be lost at any time. Head to the north or south of the evacuation zone, away from floodwaters. Do not drive or walk through still or moving water. Turn around and don’t drown. Do not drive around barricades or road closures.”
The King County Sheriff’s Office shared a video of their Guardian One helicopter taking a break:
emergency shelter
Three shelters have been set up for those needing to be evacuated:
Auburn Community and Event Center, 910 9th St. SE, Auburn, WA, 98002
Light of Hope Shelter, 2806 Auburn Way N. Auburn, WA, 98002
Evergreen State Fairgrounds, 14405 179th Ave. SE., Monroe, WA 98272 (open 24 hours) – Pets welcome
Tukwila – affected areas
Tukwila police said as of 2:23 p.m., the affected area was a business park in the southeast corner of the city, affecting parts of Tukwila, Kent and Renton.
The residential areas of Tukwila, which includes Allentown, Foster’s Point and Duwamish, were not under evacuation orders.
There are currently no evacuation orders in place for areas north of S. 180th Street in Tuckilla or west of the Green River.
The South Center area remains open at this time.
Boeing has issued an alert to employees in the area. If severe weather affects any Boeing operations, employees can call the Boeing employee emergency hotline (1-800-899-6431) and visit http://boeing.com/emergency to obtain status on its website. If the site is not mentioned, then operation is normal.
City of Renton restricts evacuations
At 3:30 p.m., Renton announced that evacuations were not currently required for areas within city limits.
Witnessing a levee burst
A tree care company said crews were working near the levee when it broke. Sound Tree Care LLC posted on Facebook that their crews were performing authorized emergency tree work to remove maple trees threatening the levees. It failed upstream from their location. No one was injured.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
