King County sets up new flood warning system
December 3, 2009
By Administrator
NEW — 2:28 p.m. Dec. 3, 2009
King County residents and business owners can now receive real-time flood warning alerts by phone, text message or e-mail for more than a half-dozen rivers, including the Snoqualmie River and Tolt River.
“The new flood alert system can be tailored to an individual’s precise needs, allowing anyone to sign up for flood alerts for a specific river or multiple rivers, for a specific flood phase level, and for the alerts to come via phone, text message or e-mail,” said Steve Bleifuhs, manager of the county’s River and Floodplain Management group.
He warned residents not to rely only on source of information during potential flooding.
“In an emergency, no one system is foolproof, and it is important for residents to check multiple sources for information – such as radio, television and the Web,” Bleifuhs said.
Residents can subscribe to the service at www.kingcounty.gov/flood or by calling 206-263-3400. The service is paid for by the King County Flood Control District, which provides money and policy oversight for flood protection projects and programs.
When wet weather raises river levels to flood conditions, the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks opens the Flood Warning Center to provide round-the-clock coordination of weather and river flooding information and answer questions for the public.
The Flood Warning Center provides a continuously updated phone message—at 206-296-8200 or 800-945-9263—describing conditions on King County’s major rivers. Residents can speak directly to staff in the center during a flood by calling 206-296-4535 or 800-768-7932.
The center uses a four-phase warning system with Phase Four being the most serious and potentially dangerous to people and property. Phases are issued independently for each of the county’s major rivers, including the Snoqualmie, Tolt and Cedar Rivers. A four-phase warning system is also established for Issaquah Creek.
Sandbag distribution information can be found online by going to www.kingcounty.gov/floodplans/ and clicking on “sandbag distribution locations.”
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