King County Flood Patrol team works 24/7 to monitor levees during historic weather event

The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) highlighted its Flood Patrol team on Tuesday, a round-the-clock group that has monitored levees with the potential of breaking during the recent floods in the past weeks.

Flood Patrol is comprised of employees from the DNRP who volunteer their services during Washington’s rainy seasons, and have a wide range of professional backgrounds, including engineers, capital project managers, and ecologists, King County announced.

King County Flood Patrol makes massive impact during recent floods

The Flood Patrol team has provided on-the-ground monitoring of the county’s levees during the floods, providing vital information for identifying a weakening levee before it breaks, and mobilizing rapid repairs if it breaches.

Members of the team assess the integrity of levees and report real-time conditions to the Flood Warning Center, which then coordinates emergency responses with the city, county, state, and federal agencies. Flood Patrol is specially trained to work on wild rivers and works in pairs to keep members safe through hazardous conditions.

Emergency responses were coordinated between King County’s Flood Warning Center and Emergency Operations Center, which helped Flood Patrol to prevent levee failures and get crews in position for immediate repairs.

On Dec. 16, two Flood Patrol team members were monitoring a barrier along the White River and began to help a neighborhood in Pacific evacuate. A King County Sheriff’s Office deputy said that this emergency response likely saved lives.

“King County’s Flood Patrol is a textbook example of boots-on-the-ground professionals who save lives and protect homes,” King County Executive Girmay Zahilay stated. “I am grateful for their dedicated service, swift action, and effective coordination with partner agencies that has resulted in a unified emergency response to historic flooding.”

A photo of a King County Flood Patrol member at the scene assessing a flood. (Photo courtesy of King County)

DNRP noted that a few days after the atmospheric river caused water levels to rise, a King County Road Services team was able to reinforce the Segale levee along the Green River in Tukwila immediately after Flood Patrol alerted them to the possible breach.

The next week, crews were standing by to quickly drop large sandbags into the Desimone levee along the Green River after it had breached. This effort protected communities in Kent, Tukwila, and Renton.

A couple of hours later, two Flood Patrol members, Craig Garric and Josh Kubo, were monitoring a barrier along the White River and went door to door overnight to alert neighbors and help them evacuate.

A coordinated effort with the Emergency Operations Center led to a rapid response with the City of Pacific, King County Road Services, and other partner agencies.

The department is currently working toward providing reinforcements and training National Guard troops to help Flood Patrol members who have been working around-the-clock since the rivers began to reach Phase 4 flooding.

Follow Jason Sutich on X. Send news tips here.