High tides are predicted January 21-27 with King Tides in the early mornings of January 23-25. And, because it is winter in Seattle, it will probably rain too. These conditions are challenging for many of us but have serious impacts on the residents and businesses of South Park.
We recently experienced how devastating an extremely high tide, called a king tide, can be along the Duwamish River. On December 27 and 28, tidal waters overtopped the riverbank and caused serious flooding in South Park homes, businesses, and streets. Some residents had to leave their homes to stay with friends or in hotels.
As we continue to support recovery, we must also turn our attention to the next high tide period with king tides.
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), in partnership with Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Facilities and Administrative Services (FAS), is providing temporary flood barriers (concrete blocks, jersey barriers, and sandbags) in locations along the river and in South Park, and making large quantities of sandbags available to residents and businesses in the area.
Unfortunately, hazards and emergencies happen. We all need to be prepared. Please sign up for Alert Seattle today by texting SEATTLE to 67283 or by going to alert.seattle.gov. The texts, automated phone calls and emails we send through Alert Seattle allow us to quickly notify communities about emergencies.
We also encourage all communities to revisit their emergency preparedness plans. For some, flooding is a known hazard. Flooding preparedness includes tracking the tides and weather, waterproofing and elevating valuables, and having a “go bag” at the ready in case evacuation becomes necessary. But flooding is just one hazard– we encourage all people to plan and prepare for emergencies by visiting: https://www.seattle.gov/emergency-management.
Let’s continue to work together by preparing for future extreme high tides, improving our emergency preparedness, building infrastructure, planning for a safe and healthy future.