Tuesday 16 December 2025 – 03:03 AM
US authorities issued immediate evacuation orders for 3 suburbs in Seattle, Washington, after a dam collapsed following a week of heavy rain.
Dam collapse in Washington
According to what was published by Reuters, the collapse of a dam in Washington state after days of heavy rain led to the issuance of a flash flood warning and evacuation orders, but the authorities said on Monday that repair work was underway.
Brendan McCloskey, King County’s director of emergency management, told The Seattle Times that repair work could take several hours, and that officials are closely monitoring Desimone Dam in Tukwila along the Green River, about five miles south of downtown Seattle, where floodwaters have washed away a car-sized portion of the dam.
The National Weather Service announced that its flood warning related to the dam collapse will remain in effect until at least 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
The Washington State National Guard announced that it will send members of it to King County, which has already begun providing assistance to residents of flood-affected areas in the west of the state over the weekend.
Authorities have expressed concern about levee failures for days across Washington state, as heavy rains batter a wide swath of the Pacific Northwest.
