White River Levee Breaches in King County, Prompting Evacuations

Residents in parts of King County, Washington, were ordered to evacuate early Tuesday following a levee breach along the White River, just hours after officials lifted an alert for a similar failure on the Green River the previous day. The latest incident prompted police in Pacific, about 20 miles south of Seattle, to issue an urgent "Go Now" directive for those in the affected area.

The White River breach came amid ongoing severe weather that has battered western Washington with heavy rains and widespread flooding. The National Weather Service in Seattle activated a flash flood warning for the site in King County, highlighting the risk of life-threatening conditions. No injuries were reported from the Tuesday event, but authorities emphasized the need for immediate action to avoid being cut off by rising waters.

The sequence of failures underscores the strain from an atmospheric river storm system that dumped more than a foot of rain in parts of the state over the past week. On Monday morning, a section of the Desimone Levee along the Green River in Tukwila failed around 11:30 a.m., triggering flash flood warnings and evacuation orders. King County officials targeted homes and...