Owners of a deli business Karrar Hesham, far right, and sister Zahrha Hesham, far left, along with Hanadi Hesham, center, and Yousif Hesham, back, walk through the flood waters after checking on the state of their store, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Auburn, Wash.
John Froschauer / AP
Officials ordered immediate evacuations in three south Seattle suburbs Monday after a levee failed following a week of heavy rains.
The evacuation order from King County in Washington state covered homes and businesses east of the Green River in parts of Kent, Auburn and Tukwila.
The National Weather Service, meanwhile, issued a flash flood warning covering nearly 47,000 people.
“Conditions are dangerous and access routes may be lost at any time,” the weather service said in a post on X.
The levee breach followed days of heavy rain and flooding that inundated communities, forced the evacuations of tens of thousands of people and prompted scores of rescues throughout western Washington state.
Flood watch
Much of northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington will remain under a flood watch Thursday through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Stretching from Pacific County in Washington state to Lane County in Oregon, the massive area west of the Cascades could see a “moderate to strong atmospheric river” this week. The weather service estimates the heaviest rains could fall Thursday, but precipitation is forecast to begin falling Tuesday.
Oregon and Southwest Washington currently have saturated soil and elevated river levels due to rain last week.
The National Weather Service cautioned people living in flood-prone areas to be prepared and to watch for landslides. While Oregon has not seen significant damage related to the weather so far this month, a landslide this week in Lincoln County closed Oregon Route 229.
The Statesman Journal reports that cooler temperatures could turn the precipitation later this week and into next weekend to snow at higher elevations. That would be a welcome sight for Oregon’s ski areas, which have struggled so far this season with very little snow on the ground.
