On the mornings of December 27 and 28, the tidally influenced Duwamish River overtopped its banks and flooded numerous homes and businesses in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood, a low-lying community which has experienced moderate flooding and sewer backups in the past. On the 27th, the extreme king tide, combined with low pressure, made for an unprecedented event.
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and community partners, as well as other City Departments, are providing direct support to impacted neighbors. SPU currently has a mobile trailer onsite to facilitate recovery efforts.
Currently, Seattle Public Utilities has:
- Worked directly with more than 18 homes and businesses to assess damage and offer short-term emergency housing through January 31. Thirty-six people are currently in hotels. Other families have chosen to remain in their homes or stay elsewhere.
- Performed safety assessment and basic cleaning of impacted homes.
- Cleared more than 54,000 pounds of garbage and debris from the neighborhood (as of January 6).
- Temporarily located hygiene facilities (porta-potties, handwashing stations, and shower facilities) to support community members, nonprofit staff, and city staff who need them.
Additionally:
- Each impacted family has been offered a case manager through American Red Cross and two community partners to address longer term housing needs.
- Impacted residents are also receiving assistance for other needs, like utility bill help, healthcare, food, and interpretation services, from City departments and community-based organizations.
- The City is providing additional cleaning and debris removal for impacted homes.
SPU is grateful for partnership with community nonprofits, other city departments and others who have also been working to provide support.
High tide inundation was the primary cause of this event, but different weather events combined to deliver a devastating punch to the community. As a city, we need to continue working together to adapt to new extremes that are expected to occur more frequently in the future.
SPU is committed to not only supporting impacted residents with immediate needs but also long-term investments and strategies: infrastructure projects that improve drainage, planning with community partners to improve resiliency in the face of climate change, and advocating for federal support to protect our communities from flooding.