Watch: Levee failure prompts overnight evacuations, impacts hundreds of homes in Washington
The levee failure displaced over 600 people after more than 200 homes were affected by widespread flooding.
White River levee failure floods City of Pacific, Washington
A levee breach occurred around 1:35 am PST on Dec. 16, and went on to displace over 600 people after more than 200 homes were affected by the widespread flooding, City of Pacific Mayor Vic Kave said.
PACIFIC, Wash. – A levee failure along the White River resulted in an ensuing flood that left entire neighborhoods swamped, affecting over 220 homes in the City of Pacific, Washington alone, officials said.
Drone footage captured from the sky above Pacific shows the vast flooding that inundated a large area of the riverside city on Dec. 16.
The levee breach occurred around 1:35 a.m. PST on Dec. 16. Over 600 people were displaced after more than 200 homes were affected by the widespread flooding, City of Pacific Mayor Vic Kave said.
PACIFIC, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 16: In an aerial view, a neighborhood is engulfed in floodwater on December 16, 2025 in Pacific, Washington. Evacuations have been ordered in 3 suburbs south of Seattle after recent levee failure. Atmospheric rivers are expected to continue in the coming days as northern Washington continues reeling back from historic flooding late last week. Mass flooding along the Pacific Northwest caused historic flooding, tens of thousands of evacuations, and dozens of Coast Guard rescues.
((Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
According to Kave, a single HESCO barrier blocker failure quickly turned into a multi-unit failure, triggering a Level 3 "Go Now" evacuation status for many Pacific residents, announced by officers from the Pacific Police Department and Valley Regional Fire Authority that went from door-to-door in the affected area.
"They were in waist deep water at times," Kave wrote in a Facebook post.
STATE FAIRGROUND PROVIDES REFUGE FOR LIVESTOCK AND FAMILIES AS WASHINGTON COMBATS HISTORIC FLOODING
The Kings County Sheriff's Office dispatched an aerial team to relay evacuation commands from a helicopter above, as hundreds of Pacific residents fled their homes in the early hours of the night.
DIRECTOR OF KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SPEAKS ABOUT FLOODING, LEVEE FAILURES
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, both Pierce and King Counties, as well as a number of neighboring towns bordering Pacific, aided in the immediate recovery process, which is ongoing.
An evacuation order for Pacific is still in place as of Wednesday afternoon, and numerous roads in the city remain closed.
Emergency crews fortified the damaged levee area with "super sacks," which carry about a yard of sand, Kave said in a press conference Tuesday.
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Image 1 of 2A levee breech in Pacific, Washington allowed the White River to spill into neighborhoods around 1:30 am on Dec. 17, prompting swift evacuation orders in 3 suburbs south of Seattle. (City of Pacific, Washington)
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Image 2 of 2Emergency crews worked to repair the levee using "super sacks" filled with sand. (City of Pacific, Washington)
Pacific is just one town in Washington state that has faced significant flooding over the past 10 days in what Gov. Bob Ferguson called "one of the most devastating disasters in our state's history."
At least 629 rescues have been made across Washington as of Monday night, Gov. Ferguson said in a post on X.
In Pacific and many towns across the 16 affected counties recovering from historic flooding across Washington, additional active weather patterns are forecast to put stress on the already battered communities.
More flooding continues in the forecast this week as atmospheric rivers return to Washington and Oregon. While the severity of the flooding will not be as great as last week, there is the potential for impacts across the state, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Washington flood risk continues as rivers rising back into major and moderate flood stage.
FOX Weather Meteorologist Steve Bender is joined by FOX 13 Seattle Meteorologist Claire Anderson to analyze another active threat in Washington just after an historic flood event swamped the state last week.
Flood Watches have once again been issued across Washington and Oregon, including the Seattle area, through at least Thursday.
High winds knocked out power to over half a million households across Washington and Oregon on Wednesday as another blast of heavy rain arrives into Thursday, which could cause rivers to stay high.