The swollen Green River burst its banks just east of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in western Washington, sending another atmospheric river dumping rain into the Pacific Northwest.
The DeSimone Levee broke near the city of Tukwila around noon local time on Monday. The levee is intended to reduce flood risk for more than 30,000 residents in Tukwila, Kent and Renton.
“We are asking the public to avoid the area and residents in the area to evacuate,” a King County Emergency Management Agency spokesperson said early Monday afternoon.
Flash flood warnings have been issued for more than 45,000 people in the affected area.
Last week, crews installed “emergency flood protection” called infiltration blankets to “help stabilize” critical levees, according to the King County Department of Natural Resources.
The Green River near Tukwila has risen about 15 feet over the past week due to multiple torrential rains from the early atmospheric river. When the levee broke, the river’s water level was just under 22 feet, higher than it had been on record for the past 60 years.
The state is still recovering from historic flooding across the West after heavy rains from the first atmospheric river last week sent rivers to record levels.
Monday’s storm has flooded parts of Washington state, Oregon and far northwestern California. In the afternoon, the river rose again. Rain falling on the mountains has also increased the risk of landslides.
A second round of cold atmospheric rivers is expected to bring more rain Tuesday into Wednesday, causing river levels to remain high and delaying recovery from last week’s flooding. Stronger winds are also possible, which could bring down trees and power lines.
A third storm could hit the region on Thursday. Further rain, wind and high-altitude snow is possible over the weekend, although details are still unclear.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
