Economy leads top Valley stories of 2009
January 6, 2010
NEW — 11:28 a.m. Jan. 6, 2010
Bailey Polson stuffs his face with cherry pie during the pie eating contest at the Festival at Mount Si. (File photo)
The past year saw many changes for Snoqualmie Valley. The economic recession permeated everything and was a constant running theme in news coverage. It put a damper on North Bend’s centennial year, which was supposed to see the city finally get some of the development money that had gone to Snoqualmie during the previous decade. Read more
Living with flooding, pt. 3: Learning to coexist alongside the river
December 30, 2009
NEW — 11:35 a.m. Dec. 30, 2009
Part 3 of 3
Sara Posey (left) and Matt Hedger, with Snoqualmie City Parks, unclog a storm drain Nov. 13, 2008, as post-flood clean-up starts. Behind them, Snoqualmie Elementary School is still closed. (Photo by Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times)
The communities of Snoqualmie Valley have persevered despite heavy floods. The inhabitants are invested in their neighborhoods and don’t want to leave the area’s beautiful setting. Now, the residents and local municipalities with King County’s help are learning how to live beside wild rivers prone to seasonal flooding.
Together, they are finding a way to coexist with the river.
Living with flooding, part 2: balancing growth and environment in Snoqualmie River floodplain
December 23, 2009
The Snoqualmie River pours out of its banks last January, flooding the Valley wall to wall near Carnation. A river’s floodplain is really the river at high flow, says David Montgomery, a geomorphology professor at the University of Washington. (Photo by Alan Berner / The Seattle Times)
Flooding. It’s an all-too familiar part of life for many residents of Snoqualmie Valley. Since moving to the Valley in 2005, Snoqualmie residents Don and Nancy Ekberg have had their home flooded twice. Business-owner and resident Julie Randazzo and her husband Harold Nesland have sandbagging their pizza restaurant and bowling alley down to a science.
Living with flooding, part 1: a valley endures
December 16, 2009
Devin Ramosbookter paddles a makeshift raft across his yard near downtown Snoqualmie during the January 2009 flood. (File photo)
Part 1 of 3
In freezing-cold rain, Julie Randazzo and other Snoqualmie residents frantically filled sandbags. Her back and shoulders ached after hours of lifting shovelfuls of wet, heavy sand into the bags. The sun had set, but the Snoqualmie River was still rising. Read more
King County sets up new flood warning system
December 3, 2009
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. Read more
FEMA gives flooding help to North Bend
November 25, 2009
Snoqualmie mobile home park to be demolished, residents relocated
North Bend neighborhoods and some Snoqualmie residents are getting a boost from the federal government to help with flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is giving $750,000 to raise or buy out homes in high-risk flood areas to minimize future damage in North Bend. Read more
Flood threat in Snoqualmie Valley comes early despite prediction for mild winter
October 28, 2009
NEW — 3:28 p.m. Oct. 28, 2009
Heavy rains raised concerns over flooding in the Snoqualmie Valley the morning of Oct. 26, but by lunchtime officials announced the threat was diminishing.
No damage from the heavy rain had been reported in Snoqualmie by the next day, but city officials are concerned about the timing of the first warning of the flood season. Read more
Valley eyes hazard mitigation grants
March 24, 2009
About 50 Snoqualmie Valley residents attended a meeting March 17 at the Mount Si High School auditorium to hear about what the city and county are doing to help residents limit the damage caused by future flooding.
Snoqualmie is applying for hazard mitigation grant funds to elevate homes out of the floodway to buy properties that are habitually inundated with floods. The city hopes that it can receive about $1.5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The money would pay for 12-15 home elevations. A second grant could pay for buying out flood-prone properties.
County forms ideas to help with flooding
March 17, 2009
Stockpiling sandbags, better interagency coordination, better public notifications, and speeding up disaster cleanups are changes that King County wants to make to better deal with emergencies like the January floods.
The King County Council approved legislation that attempts to better aid communities during floods and other emergencies on March 9. The legislation is partly in response to comments made by citizens at a committee of the whole meeting of the County Council in Carnation in February.
“In every disaster, we all continue to learn, and this event with its record water levels presented some new challenges. The Town Hall provided an opportunity for those most affected by the storm in the rural area to share their experiences with most members of the King County Council,” said King County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, in a March 9 press release.
County Council discusses flooding with Valley
February 19, 2009
More than 200 people gathered at Tolt Middle School in Carnation Feb. 11 to listen to members of the King County Council and others discuss the county’s response to January flooding in the Valley.
The council members took questions from the audience and heard presentations from county staff from the water and land resources division, the emergency management division, and the road maintenance section. A member of the agricultural commission and a local organic farmer also presented information to the crowd about the flood’s impact on farming in the valley.
A dead salmon washed onto a road and farm fields strewn with river stones and other scenes from the disastrous flood were projected above the stage where the council and the presenters sat. Read more
