South Park Flooding
Advocacy Efforts
Community at the Center
Since the River overtopped in December 2022, DRCC has partnered with community-based organizations Villa Comunitaria and Just Health Action to facilitate the Flood Community Advocacy Group (also known as the Flood CAG). This group is made up of flood-impacted neighbors and meeting agendas are entirely community-driven. These agendas fall under three categories: short-, mid-, and long-term solutions for flood resilience. The Flood CAG works very closely with Seattle Public Utilities (which funds the meetings) and various King County departments.
DRCC also works with the City’s Resilience District Advisory Group to advise long-term solutions, and has recently begun a partnership with the University of Washington’s EDGE Center to consider long-term solutions from a strictly community perspective. Part of this effort is learning about and educating the community about flooding pathways and solutions.
UPDATES:
05/23/25 Update
As the 2024/25 King Tide season comes to an end, we are reflecting on the work we have done with our partners, Just Health Action and Villa Comunitaria, both with impacted community members and with government departments, including Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and King County Wastewater Treatment Division (KCWTD).
We have worked to: deepen relationships between the community and the civil servants who represent government agencies; increase our collective understanding of our options to react to floods and climate change including flood insurance, elevating houses or buyout; and increase the community’s sense of power and control by being meaningfully involved in creating flood resilience
We have also partnered with the UW EDGE Center team on our project entitled Living With Water, in which we partner with community members (most-impacted and less-impacted) to determine and record priorities regarding climate resilience. We hope to present a report to the City of Seattle so that they can use these priorities to guide their planning for a Resilience District.
We continued working with KCWTD and those South Park residents who live in unincorporated King County (aka the Sliver by the River or the Sliver) to ensure that KCWTD serves those community member’s needs. The County has different mechanisms than the City and although all of our neighbors are South Park residents, they are not all receiving the same type of attention and service with regards to flood and climate resilience. Council Member Mosqueda’s office has been very responsive to our advocacy, and was instrumental in KC budgeting a proviso for $36K for flood insurance and over $300K for a flood management plan. We look forward to finding a representative from King County who will serve as a counterpart to SPU in supporting flood-impacted neighbors.
In addition, we are partnering with Environmental Justice reporter Amanda Zhou from the Seattle Times on a story about the 2022 flooding and its effects, with a special focus on the social justice implications of the historical lack of adequate infrastructure for many of the flood-impacted neighbors.
Some of the big events this season included the following:
A minor flooding event occurred on December 20, 2024. SPU determined afterwards that it was mostly due to stormwater, but in some part due to high winds pushing waters up the Duwamish from the Straits of Juan de Fuca. This event was unexpected and therefore worrisome for all impacted–SPU, KCWTD, and both industrial and residential neighbors. SPU took this opportunity to adjust some forecast mechanisms and the CAG requested a more formalized approach to our communications (we requested that the community-based organizations be informed immediately, so that we can immediately reach out to neighbors).
We also learned that the sandbag walls protecting residents near 8th and Portland and near 12th and Southern did indeed protect from a potential overtopping event.
We took a deep dive into flood-insurance options, with the help of Hauglie Insurance Agency. About ten neighbors agreed to have policy estimates developed. This process takes into account many factors such as: residing in City vs the County, flood history, date of construction or remodel, proximity to the River, etc. The quotes were helpful but in many cases unaffordable. We are considering seeking funding for flood insurance but are trying to learn if there is precedence for this type of project.
In October 2024, the CAG reviewed SPU’s Emergency Response Plan (ERP). In Spring 2025, SPU ran a drill of the ERP. This included closing the sections of the sandbag wall that remain open all winter (allowing the industries that share the sites to continue work). The ERP has time windows in which they will order closures if indicated. The drill went smoothly and the SPU’s Logistics team finished ahead of schedule.
We are looking forward to holding a final closeout CAG meeting for this season, to touch base on flood insurance and determine any other off-season priorities. This was an ultimately uneventful season and we are grateful for that fact, as well as grateful to the CAG members and our external partners.
02/25 Update
Seattle Public Utilities will be conducting a practice drill of the Emergency Response Plan they developed after the River flooded in 2022. It will probably take about 12 hours and mostly be concentrated around 2nd and Fontanelle, 7th and Holden, 8th and Kenyon and 12th and Southern. They will have a mock command center at 8th and Monroe and will be happy to answer questions there.
Feel free to ask me questions or email Brian.Mickelson@seattle.gov, he is super helpful.
LIVING WITH WITH WATER
Living With Water builds on a study known as SASPER—the Seattle Assessment of Public Health Emergency Response—which included a systematic survey of households in the Duwamish Valley to assess the community’s priorities for building climate resilience.
Learn more about the Root Causes of Flooding
1/12/23 Flooding Update
DRCC South Park Flooding Response Update
DRCC was the first on site to provide immediate assistance to families impacted and to make sure they were being relocated in hotels since many homes were unsafe to return to.
On behalf of the whole DRCC team and the 30+ impacted families along Kenyon and Chicago streets, we would like to say THANK YOU to every single supporter who has shown up emotionally, physically, and financially. Since 12/27’s flooding , DRCC has learned a lot about the developing situation on the ground basic and essential needs, advocating fiercely on behalf of our impacted neighbors (from house floods and fire), listening compassionately to very tender stories, and establishing trusting relationships with community partners and various governmental agency groups.
12/28/22 Flooding Update
SPANISH Updates on Flooding
Waste Management
After the flood many families lost all there belongings. As hard as it was to go through so many items there was little to no saves of so many memories and items.
A community is built by its people. As always we appreciate all the support. We have been working hard with Seattle Public Utilities to provide hazardous waste expertise clean up in a safe way for our community. Our priority is for our community to be SAFE and HEALTHY. Thank You!
Duwamish Valley Resilience Planning
Climate resilience is the ability to prevent, prepare for, and respond to disruptions caused by climate change.
Resilience on Seattle's Waterfront
We went door to door, asking people in Seattle's Duwamish Valley what they thought about community resilience. This is what we found.
Meeting people’s needs
Since for flooding happened, we have been door knocking every day to hear directly from our impacted neighbors and to make sure their needs are met. Here are we have been able to accomplish following their lead and in collaboration with the City of Seattle and partners.
Open and onsite office and resource center where impacted neighbors can come share concerns or just ask for what is needed ( including PPE equipment, water.
Secure safe warm showers for families who lost hot water heaters and/ or no electrivity
Bring PODS for storaging their loved belongings while City contracts with experts to cleanup their homes
Secure a mobile laundry service that will allow families to have washers and dryers close by and FREE of cost
We provided daily lunches to more than 40 homes
Secure a mobile clinic in collaboration with SeaMar
Provided electrician and contractor assesors to help community identify dangerous situation
Worked with Port of Seattle to open the Duwamimsh River Community Hub for families to have a place to rest while waiting for laundry and also for dropping donations where impacted families were able to shop.
DRCC through donations was able to provide all impacted families with a $599 as emergency funding
Bring City departments together including Department of Housing to discuss long term solutions for relocation beyond the hotel to make sure our families are not displaced
Assure our children have transportation to get from and to school while they are relocated
Most importantly be there for community!
We would like to hear from you
(This is a Space for impacted neighbors for questions/concerns )
( Si tiene preguntas o preocupaciones por favor escriba abajo)