Levee on Green River fails in Tukwila; get to higher ground immediately

Levee on Green River fails in Tukwila; get to higher ground immediately

KIRO 7 News Staff

Tue, December 16, 2025 at 1:40 AM UTC

3 min read

A levee has failed on the Green River, and people who are in low-lying areas of Tukwila should move to higher ground immediately.

As of 2:30 p.m., KIRO 7 has confirmed that a temporary repair has been completed on the breach, and it is holding.

The city of Tukwila has issued a Level 1 “get set” evacuation for a larger area outside of the breach.

“Conditions can change suddenly with very little warning. The City is encouraging people to “GET SET” to leave on very short notice in the Southcenter District, West Valley Hwy area, and the eastside of Interurban Ave South (north of I-405 and the north end of Foster Golf Course) that are prone to flooding. Conditions may worsen and access routes could become limited," the city said.

The affected area in Tukwila is a commercial business park in the southeast corner of Tukwila. The area impacted extends into Kent and Renton.

No residential apartments or homes in Tukwila are affected.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Seattle issued a Flash Flood Warning early in the afternoon because of the failure at the Desimone Levee along Todd Boulevard.

It initially covered nearly 47,000 people, but was reduced within a few hours to an area covering 7,000 people.

“Leave immediately if you are in this area. Conditions are dangerous and access routes may be lost at any time. Go north or south of evacuated area away from flooding waters. Do not drive or walk through standing or moving water. Turn around, don’t drown. Do not drive around barricades or road closures,” Governor Bob Ferguson said online.

King County Sheriff’s Office shared video from their Guardian One helicopter of the break:

Emergency shelters

There are three shelters set up for those who need to evacuate:

Auburn Community and Event Center, 910 9th St. SE, Auburn, WA, 98002

Ray of Hope Shelter, 2806 Auburn Way N. Auburn, WA, 98002

Evergreen State Fairgrounds, 14405 179th Ave. SE., Monroe, WA 98272 (Open 24 hours) – Pets welcomed

Tukwila - areas impacted

Tukwila police say that as of 2:23PM the impacted area is a commercial business park located in the southeast corner of the city, affecting portions of Tukwila, Kent, and Renton.

Tukwila residential neighborhoods including Allentown, Foster Point, and Duwamish are not under an evacuation order.

There is currently no evacuation order for areas in Tukwila north of S. 180th Street or west of the Green River.

The Southcenter District remains open at this time.

Boeing has issued an alert for employees in the area. If severe weather affects any Boeing operations, employees can get the status on their site by calling the Boeing Employee Emergency Hotline (1-800-899-6431) and going to http://boeing.com/emergency. If a site is not mentioned, operations are normal.

Renton city limits not being evacuated

At 3:30 p.m. Renton announced that areas within the city limits are not being asked to evacuate at this time.

Witnessing the levee break

A tree care company says crews were working near the levee when it failed. Sound Tree Care LLC posted on Facebook, saying that their crew was performing authorized emergency tree work to remove a maple tree that was threatening the levee. It failed upriver from their position. No one was hurt.

This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.

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