King County ready for wet and wild weather

Flood warning center poised for duty if river flows surge

The fall storm season is under way, and King County’s Flood Warning Center is prepared to provide citizens and property owners with accurate and timely river flooding information.

Heavy rains forecast for later this week are a reminder that river flooding can occur at any time in King County. Flood season generally begins in earnest in November and lasts well into spring.

When wet weather brings rivers up to certain levels, the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks opens its Flood Warning Center to provide round-the-clock coordination of weather and river flooding information. Operations of the Flood Warning Center are funded by the King County Flood Control District.

The center is designed to give citizens at least two hours warning to prepare for possible flooding. And it works in tandem with the county's Road Services Division, to give citizens up-to-date information about road closures.

The King County Flood Warning Center has been in operation for more than four decades, providing critical flood warning information to county residents and property owners. The center has helped coordinate response through 10 presidentially declared flood disasters since 1990, and has helped provide information that resulted in millions of dollars in federal and state flood relief grants to King County.

The Flood Warning Center provides a continuously updated phone message (206-296-8200 or 1-800-945-9263) that describes conditions on King County's major rivers. During a flood residents can speak directly to Flood Warning Center personnel via the Flood Center Hotline, at 206-296-4535 or 1-800-768-7932.

The center sends out flood patrol teams to inspect levees and to check recent repairs to flood protection projects, reported trouble spots, or problems called in by citizens.

King County provides funding for the U.S. Geological Service river monitoring system. Real time river flow and stage data is available to anyone who logs onto the Department's Web site at www.kingcounty.gov/flood.

Flood Warning Center operation is based on a four-phase warning system with Phase Four being the most serious and potentially dangerous to people and property. Phases are issued independently for each of the county's major rivers – the Snoqualmie, Tolt, Cedar, Green and White rivers. A four-phase warning system is also established for Issaquah Creek.

Phase One means county staff members are alerted and preparations are made to open the Flood Warning Center. A Phase Two alert usually involves lowland flooding and closure of roads and is the level at which the center is activated. Phase Three involves significant flooding that is a threat because of the water’s depth and velocity, and includes sending out patrols. A Phase Four alert brings the possibility of heavy and very dangerous flood conditions.

The Flood Warning Center works with the National Weather Service to obtain forecast information used by the weather service to make flood predictions. The center also works with the King County Roads Services Division, which deploys crews to post road closures as water covers roadways. Road crews are also used to construct emergency repairs to flood protection facilities when high water threatens their viability.

The center also coordinates with the City of Seattle and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operate dams on county rivers, and with the King County Regional Communications and Emergency Coordination Center during major flooding conditions. The Flood Warning Center is an important element of King County's Floodplain Management Program and its Flood Hazard Management Plan.

Floods in the King County region most commonly occur from November through February during periods of heavy rainfall or rapid snowmelt. Residents should keep informed of changing river conditions and make early preparations in case of major river flooding. 

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.

Related Information:

Flood Services and Information

Stormwater Services

Water and Land Resources Division

Take Winter by Storm (external site)