Flood Awareness Month highlights need for residents to prepare across King County

In signing a proclamation today declaring October as “Flood Awareness Month,” King County Council Chair Dow Constantine and King County Flood Control District Chair Julia Patterson urged all citizens to follow the county’s lead and get ready for flood season.

"King County’s flood control district has been strengthening levees along its major rivers, but preparing for flooding is something that every individual must also take to heart,” Constantine said. “Public safety is our number-one priority, and personal safety should be each family’s top priority.”

“King County, along with our local, state and federal partners, is doing everything possible to meet whatever flood challenges we may face this upcoming flood season,” said Councilmember Patterson. “However, there’s another type of work that needs to be done – work that can’t be done by the county.  It’s important that citizens who live in potential flood areas get prepared as well.”
 
Constantine and Patterson were joined by Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis and John Campion, Green River Valley flood resolution project manager for Puget Sound Energy, at the home of Steven and Betty Van Gasken, whose Auburn home sits alongside the Green River.

A normally placid river, the Green River could experience major flooding this year because of damage to the Howard Hanson Dam abutment upstream. The Van Gaskens have taken actions to keep their family safe and protect their belongings in the event a flood occurs before repairs at the dam can be made.

The civic leaders stressed the importance of each family taking responsibility for its own safety, including:

• Making an emergency plan and assembling an emergency kit that includes a portable battery-powered radio, flashlight, fresh batteries, cooking equipment, non-perishable food, drinking water, medications and a first aid kit. Visit http://www.govlink.org/3days3ways/makeaplan.html for more information.
• Buying flood insurance now; it takes 30 days for a policy to take effect, and a standard insurance policy will not cover flood damage. Contact your insurance agent or visit www.floodsmart.gov. 
•  Monitoring area news media for information if severe weather is predicted. Listen for alerts about evacuation routes, and monitor local road conditions and obey closure signs.
• Minimizing flood damage by storing valuables and electronics higher, and by moving vehicles and equipment to high ground before flood waters rise.
• Dispose of hazardous chemicals such as lawn and gardening herbicides at one of the county’s household hazardous waste sites to help reduce harmful contaminates in flood waters.

“We can’t stress enough how important it is to heed the recommendations of officials during a flood or other natural disaster,” said Campion. “In the event of flooding or an evacuation, PSE will keep the power on and the gas flowing as long as it is safe to do so. We will use all available communications channels to keep our customers and communities informed regarding their electric and natural gas service.”

Homeowners Steven and Betty Van Gasken attended community meetings on emergency preparedness and have taken the advice of emergency managers. They have relocated their electronic items and other valuables to the second floor of their home, and are storing important documents in plastic bags to prevent water damage.

Another preparedness measure that’s available to all residents in King County is training through the Community Emergency Response Team certification program. CERT groups train citizens to respond in their own neighborhoods during floods and other disasters.

Flood preparations have taken on new urgency in Auburn, Kent, Renton and Tukwila, as well as rural and unincorporated areas of the Green River Valley, in the wake of this past January’s damage to the Howard Hanson flood-control dam.

“We hope our citizens will continue in their preparedness efforts,” said Mayor Lewis. “There is no priority higher than protecting our citizens.”

He added that Auburn has been working extensively to prepare its citizens for the possibility of widespread flooding – something the city hasn’t seen since the early 1960s, before the dam was completed.

Since the dam was completed, PSE has installed two key electric transmission substations and primarily underground electric distribution lines to serve the growing area. If the Green River Valley is flooded, having these facilities in water will pose unique challenges in restoring service quickly.

The dam’s right abutment was damaged in January as the reservoir was filled with floodwaters to protect communities downstream. As a result, the dam’s flood-storage capacity has been reduced by approximately one-third, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials have said they may have to release more water than downstream levees can contain in order to keep the dam safe.
Executive Kurt Triplett noted that King County had already issued an emergency declaration to speed preparations for an increased risk of flooding on the Green River. The action will waive county contracting requirements and help support a request for federal reimbursement for pre-emptive measures after the Corps warned of potential major flooding for three to five years while the dam is being repaired.
While a new focus on flood preparedness has been put on residents and business owners in the Green River Valley, Triplett added that many other rivers in King County are also susceptible to flooding.

“It’s important to remember the same storm that caused problems at Howard Hanson Dam on the upper Green River also produced record flood flows along the Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers,” Triplett said. “Flooding also occurred along the Cedar and White rivers, as well as on Issaquah Creek this past winter.”

To help protect communities across King County, the Flood Control District, along with King County, the Corps and other government and partners have been working to rebuild and strengthen levees on rivers across the county.

A total of 25 levee rebuilding and other flood-control projects were planned for this construction season, including 10 on the Cedar River, nine on the Snoqualmie/Skykomish rivers and six along the Green River. Four of these projects were under taken in partnership with the Corps of Engineers.
For more information on preparing for flooding, visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/FloodPlan.aspx. For more information about how the King County Flood Control District prepares for and responds to flooding, visit the Flooding Topics Web site at http://www.kingcounty.gov/flood.
For the third consecutive year King County's efforts to protect people and property have earned it the highest rating of any county in the United States under Federal Emergency Management Agency's Community Rating System. This results in a 40 percent discount in flood insurance rates for policyholders in unincorporated King County, an average savings of $370 per year.

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About the King County Flood Control District
The King County Flood Control District is a special purpose government created to provide funding and policy oversight for flood protection projects and programs in King County.  The Flood Control District’s Board is composed of the members of the King County Council. The Water and Land Resources Division of the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks develops and implements the approved flood protection projects and programs. Visit http://www.kingcountyfloodcontrol.org for more information.

About Puget Sound Energy
Washington state’s oldest local energy utility, Puget Sound Energy serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 750,000 natural gas customers in 11 counties. A subsidiary of Puget Energy, PSE meets the energy needs of its growing customer base through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service and delivering energy that is safe, reliable, reasonably priced, and environmentally responsible. For more information, visit www.PSE.com.

Related information

Flood Awareness Proclamation

Flooding services and information

Flood Preparedness

3 Days 3 Ways

King County Flood Control District

King County Water and Land Resources