2009 Executive Office news releases

King County crews make progress opening and repairing flood-damage roads and levees
As water recedes and river levels drop around the region, King County Road Services Division crews continue making progress repairing and cleaning up county roads hard hit by flood waters. Crews are also making progress on emergency repairs to damaged levees along the Tolt and Snoqualmie rivers.

King County responds to urgent needs of Pacific flood victims in first steps of recovery
Residents of Pacific greeted King County crews with open arms Sunday as they arrived to assist with clean up in the hardest hit area of the city.

King County staff and volunteers pull out the stops to help Pacific flood victims clean up
At the direction of King County Executive Ron Sims, the county's Emergency Management office is managing an extraordinary effort to help the people of Pacific today as they clean up from last week's devastating flood. Emergency Management managers are coordinating the efforts of King County crews and equipment as well as a team of volunteers. King County Solid Waste trucks and King County Airport dump trucks are in Pacific where as many as 50 are expected to help residents clean and dispose of damaged belongings.

Damage assessment and cleanup begins
King County Office of Emergency Management is now collecting information about damages from the January 2009 floods.

Emergency levee repairs under way
King County is mobilizing today to make emergency repairs to levees and other flood-prevention structures that were damaged by this week's record flooding. King County Executive Ron Sims is again heading out to affected communities to speak with elected local leaders and meet with residents whose lives have been affected by floods.

County Executive to meet with flood victims
King County Executive Ron Sims will travel to Snoqualmie and Pacific this afternoon to meet with city leaders and residents as river waters recede, and the amount of damage becomes more clear. The difficult clean up effort is underway for people in flooded communities as they are able to get back to their homes.

King County Executive tours flood damaged communities
County Executive Ron Sims spent most of Friday viewing East King County flood damage where all rivers had historic flows of rain and melted snow and the Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers hit the highest level in history. The Executive visited the Red Cross regional center in Renton and spoke with people who evacuated their homes as well as residents whose homes were spared from flooding.

Record flows on Tolt, severe levee damage possible
Record water flows on rivers across the region are causing significant flooding, including possible damage to two levees along the Tolt River near the City of Carnation. Flood waters are also causing significant road damage across King County.

Incident management team helps City of Pacific
A specialized incident management team is on scene at the City of Pacific tonight, in response to a request from that community for help dealing with widespread flooding.

Flooding cuts off residents in East King County
Levees across King County are holding the significant flows that have hit the region over the past 48 hours, although King County Flood Crews have not been able to reach the levee in Maple Valley to assess its condition.