‘A lot of water everywhere.’ Hundreds evacuate in south King County as flood barrier fails

Hundreds of people in Auburn and Pacific — in the south end of King County — were forced to leave their homes early Tuesday morning because of the flooding White River.

First came the police, knocking on people's doors.

Then, around 2:30 in the morning, Dean Johnson heard a loud message from the sky.

“Waking up to a helicopter saying, ‘Level four, get out of here,’” Johnson told KUOW, “and by the time we had our cars packed with just our minimum belongings, it was bad. It was bad.”

Johnson is one of more than 2,000 people in Pacific and Auburn who were told to evacuate.

King County officials say a flood barrier on the nearby White River failed early Tuesday.

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“We wanted to check on our neighbors that we knew might have a hard time getting out for sure. People are very helpful here, which is very nice,” said Deb Jenkins, who evacuated during a similar flood here in 2009. “The people we know that are elderly and had a hard time getting out, we made sure they got out.”

Eddy Edwards said he had just gone to bed a couple hours before the helicopter told him and his roommate to leave.

“I put my roommate and the dog in my kayak and just drug them out,” Edwards said. “When it got up to about my chest this morning, that's when I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is for real.’”

By midday, some people waded through knee-high water to check on their flooded homes. Johnson came back to get his chickens out of the water.

“I had to take them out, one by one, out of the coop, because the water was that deep,” he said. “So, I had to go save them.”

Some people got help from their generous neighbors.

On Tuesday afternoon, Trevor Curtis found himself trapped at his home, completely surrounded by dirty flood water. He tried driving through the water, but no luck.

“When you had a little Volkswagen Passat, it was tough getting through there,” he said. “These trucks are helpful. This gentleman here was nice enough to pick me up.”

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That gentleman in the truck is Nick Carter, who drove from Tacoma to help people like Curtis.

“We brought chains and ropes just in case we needed to drag anybody or grab anybody,” Carter said. “We grabbed water, towels, a bunch of stuff, [and drove out to] see if we can find anybody stranded, and if anybody needs help getting out or is stuck or anything.”

The order to evacuate Tuesday morning came after a flood barrier broke on the White River. Stalled-out cars were left behind in three feet of water.

“We're in a situation, we have the equipment to do it, so we might as well try and see if we can help people that are in need,” Carter said.

Some people who evacuated have friends or family nearby that they’ll stay with until the water recedes. Many headed to the nearby community center. Edwards said he was trying to find a motel room but most were completely booked.

Community leaders set up a food pantry for first responders and local residents.

It could be days before those residents can return to their homes.

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On Tuesday night, emergency crews began dropping nylon soaking sacks in large pools of water to help alleviate some of the flooding. One big problem now is getting all the water back on the other side of the flood barrier.

Wednesday morning started with sunshine, a welcome break in the rain.

But “we know more rain is coming,” Eddy Edwards said.

Both the Green and White rivers remained at Level 3 flood stage on Wednesday, according to King County Department of Natural Resources.