Home Care In Pacific, WA

The Brief

The city of Pacific held a meeting Tuesday night to talk about what happened during this month's destructive flooding and to discuss resources for residents.

Hundreds of people were displaced when a levee broke, sending floodwaters into neighborhoods near the White River.

Some expressed frustration that help isn't coming in quickly, and they want answers as to why the breach wasn't detected or announced sooner.

What they're saying:

The mayor of Pacific says video shows what one worker encountered as they started making their way to the broken levee in an excavator.

After reaching the levee breach with that heavy equipment, the operator had to turn around and figure out another way to get at the breach, which was hidden under the rushing water of the White River.

"Made it out to the breach and realized it was too deep," said Mayor Vic Kave, city of Pacific.

That worker had to push through to the east side of the park, and then formulate a plan with the city to start putting down sandbags.

"We were able to build a ramp over the Hesco wall to stop the flow of water," said Mayor Kave.

Hours later, the mayor says the water was finally draining out into the river.

Officials from King County said the state was currently working on finding an organization to help to distribute some recently authorized state funds quickly.

Pacific Mayor Vic Kave says there will be a forensic examination done in the future to determine what went wrong. He asked people to harness their frustration for the time being.

"The city has only been in a position to react to an event like this," said Mayor Kave.

Still, residents expressed their frustration to city and county leaders during Tuesday's 6:00 pm meeting. Some of the concerns included slow assistance with recovery and the tone of the leaders speaking at the meeting.

Luvi Rodriguez was at Tuesday's 6:00 pm meeting. She says her mom was one of the first to call 911.

"It happened really quick," she said about the flooding.

The water came into their apartment so fast, they had to evacuate by boat.

"We lost beds, we lost furniture, we lost clothes," said Rodriguez.

She says there is so much damage to the items in their house, it's difficult to know where to begin.

Waste management has said crews will deliver 8 dumpsters in 3 locations to the areas where people were the most impacted by the floods.

List of acceptable flood-damaged items;

Residents also asked that the city or county provide translators for non-English-speaking residents at the next meeting.

King County officials at the meeting directed them to go to the translated portion of the county's website. Residents countered that some people also have technology barriers as well.

There is another meeting scheduled in Pacific on Friday.

Early on Tuesday, a significant levee failure on the White River led to an urgent Flash Flood Warning issued by the National Weather Service at approximately 1:36 a.m., triggering Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders for residents in Pacific, Washington. This notification specifically targeted those living near 3rd Avenue Southeast and Butte Road, advising immediate evacuation.

Local first responders were deployed to alert residents, many of whom were awakened in the early hours by the urgent calls to evacuate. The failure of the levee, identified as a HESCO barrier, raised alarms as these soil-filled structures are designed to provide flood protection.

The situation has affected around 2,159 residents according to the National Weather Service, whose officials strongly urged those in the affected flood warning area to evacuate promptly for their safety. This incident follows closely on the heels of a similar flash flood warning that occurred just the day prior, when the Green River breached a levee in Tukwila; those evacuation orders were lifted on Monday evening.

The levee breach has seriously impacted several apartment complexes in the vicinity, leading to alarming scenes of rising water. One resident recounted experiencing the aftermath firsthand: “I opened my window, looked out – the parking lot is underwater over the tires of the pickup truck.” In response, the resident called 911, resulting in a swift dispatch of a boat to navigate individuals out of the flooded lot and closer to safety, though evacuees still had to walk through ankle-deep water to reach the designated evacuation center.

In response to the crisis, the City of Pacific has set up the Senior Center at 100 3rd Ave SE as a primary location for evacuees, with other city buildings, including City Hall, acting as warming centers temporarily.

By late afternoon on Tuesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reported that water was being released at Mud Mountain Dam. This decision aims to reduce outflows to facilitate ongoing repairs, with officials monitoring the situation closely. Travis Ball, chief of hydraulic and construction engineering for the Seattle District, confirmed the Corps’ commitment to managing water flows after being alerted to the levee breach.

Pacific Mayor Vic Kave mentioned that about 220 homes were directly affected, with several hundred residents requiring temporary accommodations as flooding overwhelmed local capabilities. “Unfortunately, Mother Nature kicked our butts last night,” Kave stated, emphasizing the city’s reliance on regional partners for assistance during this critical time.

Kave explained that the flooding was exacerbated by years of sediment buildup within the man-made channel of the White River, combined with increased water flows released from upstream dams. Consequently, a city park that sits below the river’s level began to act as a reservoir for floodwaters, leading to the early morning breach that has caused damage reminiscent of the catastrophic flood in 2009.

Emergency crews have been working diligently to reinforce the levee and seal the breach, which has helped to lower the water levels. Looking ahead, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is prepared to implement a long-term strategy for reinforcing the levee structure, with plans projected to commence on Wednesday, depending on weather conditions, as another storm system approaches the area.

As this situation develops, further updates will be provided to keep the community informed.

Even with words like “historic” and “record-breaking,” it can be hard to get a sense of the scale of the atmospheric river that hit Washington state this month, taking chunks out of highways, sweeping away homes, submerging cars, and taking at least one life.

But numbers can start to paint a picture. More than nine million acre-feet: That's the amount of water that dumped on the flooded areas of Western Washington over 10 days. It adds up to more than three times the volume of water in Lake Washington.

Still, that number doesn't capture all of the rain that struck the region in such a short period of time.

That’s according to observed precipitation and calculations from the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, a U.C. San Diego-based research institute that studies atmospheric rivers. They rated December 2025's atmospheric river as a 4 out of 5, meteorologist Sam Bartlett said. But what made scientists there take this atmospheric river “a little bit more seriously over multiple days” was its persistence.

“This storm was extremely long,” Bartlett said. “It was not among the most intense in the historical record over the region, but it was one of the longest. So that was really what was notable about this event, was the duration for which you had high, elevated atmospheric moisture being transported up over the Pacific Northwest … which did a lot to overwhelm streams and rivers in the region.”

Ryan Torn, a University at Albany professor who got his Ph.D in atmospheric science at the University of Washington, double-checked the math.

“Nine million acre feet is a big amount of water for sure, during an event like that,” Torn said, adding that rivers like the Nooksack and Skykomish were simply inundated over days. “There's a lot of places in the Pacific Northwest that can absorb that kind of precipitation rate for a short period of time. But when you do it for days, very quickly, that saturates the soil and then just the water just runs off very quickly, downhill.”

The nine million acre-feet number captures rainfall from Dec. 9-19, yet doesn’t capture the total amount of rainfall over all of Western Washington. Rather, it’s just how much fell in 17 watersheds KUOW identified east of Puget Sound, from the Nooksack River down to the Lewis River, which experienced heavy flooding. It also doesn’t include everywhere that saw flooding in Washington state, such as Grays Harbor County.

The 17 watersheds KUOW asked the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes to calculate rainfall for are the Nooksack, Upper and Lower Skagit, Lake Chelan, Stillaguamish, Sauk, Snohomish, Skykomish, Snoqualmie, Lake Washington, Wenatchee, Duwamish, Puyallup, Nisqually, Upper and Lower Cowlitz, and Lewis watersheds.

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Thousands are without power in Washington after the state faced over a week of storms, flooding, and levee failures.

Approximately 193,463 customers are without power on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 3 p.m. ET, according to USA TODAY's power outage tracker. Oregon, Washington's southern neighbor, is also grappling with power outages.

Despite the short break from heavy rain on Tuesday, Dec. 17, King County, Washington, remains under a flash flood warning until the morning of Dec. 17, according to the National Weather Service. Areas of the state are also experiencing gusts of wind of nearly 70 mph.

More rain is expected across the Pacific Northwest throughout the week, with additional heavy rainfall and widespread flooding, according to AccuWeather.

Washington state power outage map

Two levee failures led to flash flood warnings

Flash flood warnings in King County, Washington, around 20 miles east of Seattle, is under flash flood warnings after two levees in the area were breached, according to AccuWeather.

The first levee, the Desimone Levee in Tukwila, Washington, breached on Monday afternoon, Dec. 15, causing residents and businesses to be ordered to evacuate. The second, located near the Pacific, breached on Tuesday, Dec. 16.

One man dead after flash flooding, levee failures

On Dec. 15, at 1:30 a.m. local time, sheriff's deputies and fire personnel responded to reports ofa car completely submerged in water, according to USA TODAY's previous reporting.

A 33-year-old man was found inside the car and pronounced dead at the scene. He is believed to have driven past a closure sign amid the flash floods and levee failures.

"The vehicle left the roadway and entered a lower farmland/ditch area containing approximately six feet of water," the Snohomish County Sheriff said.

The driver and the cause of his death have not been identified.

This story was updated with new information.

Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY

Julia is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers scientific studies and trending news. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at [email protected]

Residents forced from their homes by Tuesday’s HESCO barrier failure will likely have to wait until the weekend before they can return, Pacific Mayor Vic Kave said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

That is not what displaced families wanted to hear. An estimated 600 to 1,000 people from 220 homes are now staying in shelters, with relatives, or in the upper floors of flooded houses. The crisis is far from over: another major storm is expected overnight, and Mud Mountain Dam continues releasing water to keep the reservoir from overtopping.

“We are heartbroken to report 220 residences were affected by this event,” Kave said earlier Tuesday in a Facebook post. “Multiply that by 3 or 5 — that is how many people we are working to accommodate.”

Kave said officials will evaluate returns on a case-by-case basis depending on conditions and whether individual homes were directly flooded. For now, everyone waits.

Third Avenue likely closed all winter

Even when residents do return, their neighborhood will look different.

Third Avenue SE runs adjacent to the HESCO barriers and parallel to the White River. It is now severely damaged, with asphalt breaking apart under the stress of the flooding. Kave said the road will likely remain closed for most of the winter.

Tuesday afternoon, police blocked Skinner Road at Third Avenue SE in the heart of the evacuation zone. Beyond the barricade, the street that residents use every day to get to work, to school, to the grocery store, sat empty and impassable.

The Pacific levee breach is the latest in a series of King County and Washington state flooding emergencies this week, as western Washington weathers its worst December storms in decades

Kave described the terrifying speed of the failure at his Tuesday afternoon press conference. A patrol team witnessed it in real time early Tuesday morning. It started as a small leak, like water from a hose, and the barrier came apart in under 30 seconds, Kave said.

The breach occurred before 1:30 a.m., causing damage comparable to the 2009 flood despite lower water flows this time. The underlying problem, Kave explained, is that the White River has filled with sediment over the years, drastically reducing how much water it can carry. The city park now sits below river level.

Deep scouring along the original levee, measuring four feet deep by 20 feet wide, allowed water to infiltrate the park and overwhelm the HESCO barriers.

“What started as a trickle, noticed by one of the overnight spotters, quickly turned into a multi-unit HESCO failure,” Kave stated in his Facebook post. “Pacific officers and Valley Regional Fire Authority went door to door advising residents of the Go Now status. They were in waist-deep water at times.”

The King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One was deployed to broadcast Level 3 evacuation orders from the air. City staff had the first shelter space opened by 1:45 a.m.

HESCO barriers are large, collapsible wire mesh containers lined with heavy fabric and filled with sand or soil.

They are used as temporary flood control structures to protect communities from rising water.

I live about a mile southeast of where the levee breach occurred, up on a hill overlooking the White River valley. I was waking up around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, to prepare for “Seattle’s Morning News,” when I heard helicopters circling outside.

By 3 a.m., I had made my way to the scene near 3rd Avenue and Spencer Court. Neighbors, many still in their pajamas, had gathered at the river’s edge trying to make sense of what was happening. Social media videos shared by residents show flooded parking lots with water rising higher than car tires.

“It’s crazy.” Neighbors are gathering here in Pacific as evacuation order issued. They say they were told a tree fell on the levee on the White River here. Now breached. I’ve seen several families in cars evacuating. Multiple helicopters can be heard overhead. #wawx pic.twitter.com/qztwsImXja

— Charlie Harger, KIRO Newsradio (@KIROCharlie) December 16, 2025

One man I spoke with said the evacuation order surprised longtime residents.

“We’ve never been alerted to evacuate before,” he said. “The flood we had here in ’09, it came across the street and filled the park up and all that. And there was no warning to evacuate that time. So this is brand new for us.”

How would he describe the situation? “A lot crazy,” he said.

His wife said she was here for the 1984 levee break at the same location. “Yeah, the levee broke—that’s where we’re at now,” she said.

Natalia, who lives on 3rd Avenue South, said the emergency alert jolted her household awake.

“Everybody jumped up wondering what’s happening,” she said.

After a week of relentless rain and record flooding across western Washington, she thought Pacific was through the worst of it.

“No, not at all,” she said when I asked if she expected this. “We actually thought we were kind of getting better around here.”

Crews worked through the day on a two-phase repair plan, Kave said: first, reinforce the original levee where scouring occurred to stop water from filling the park, then plug the breach once water levels dropped.

Emergency crews used super sacks, large bags holding roughly one cubic yard of sand each, moved into place by heavy equipment. The breach is now plugged. The patch is not as high as the original HESCO barriers, but it sits above the water level at the time of the breach. Reinforcement work is scheduled for Wednesday.

The question now is whether the patch will hold through another night of heavy rain as the latest atmospheric river moves through western Washington.

Kelly Hawks, a spokesperson for Valley Regional Fire Authority, said crews are ready to expand evacuations if needed.

“We’re monitoring the situation, and if we need to evacuate more, we’ll make sure that information gets out to the people that need it,” Hawks said.

Kave expressed frustration that throughout the week, people had been climbing on the HESCO barriers and even launching kayaks into the water on the other side. He said there is no way to know whether this activity contributed to the breach, but emphasized that rules exist for a reason.

Spectators continue to get in the way of emergency crews trying to work, Kave said, and many of them don’t even live in the affected area.

The city is prepared to enforce penalties, including civil fines up to $500 and arrest if individuals refuse to cooperate.

“Right now, we need people to stay away from the flooded area to allow repair,” Kave said in his Facebook post. “Curious people are stopping and slowing down critical equipment, machines, and personnel the room they need to repair the breach.”

Senator Maria Cantwell has reached out to the city. Kave noted that the HESCO system was supposed to be temporary when it was installed 17 years ago. It clearly needs a permanent replacement, he said, but that discussion will have to wait until the emergency passes.

King County now has 24/7 patrols walking the HESCO barriers from Auburn to the King-Pierce County line, with three teams of two working eight-hour shifts.

Alpac Elementary, located within the evacuation zone, was closed Tuesday. District officials have not yet announced whether the school will reopen Wednesday.

Those impacted by the White River flooding can find emergency shelter at the Pacific Senior Center on 3rd Avenue. Residents should monitor the city’s Facebook page and sign up for E-notify alerts on the city website for updates.

Auburn, Sumner, Algona, Bonney Lake, Federal Way, King and Pierce counties, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and volunteers have stepped up to help, delivering food, blankets, diapers, sandbags, and heavy equipment.

“We cannot thank them enough,” Kave said. “Pacific residents’ safety is my top priority.”

With Mud Mountain Dam releases continuing, a temporary patch holding back the White River, and another atmospheric river bearing down overnight, the next 24 hours will determine whether Pacific’s crisis deepens or finally begins to ease.

This story was originally published on December 16, 2025. It has been updated and republished since then.

Charlie Harger is the host of on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries . Follow Charlie and email him .