City helping residents get back to normal after record storm
Mayor declares state of emergency for Seattle

For immediate release: 12/04/2007
For more information, Contact:
SPU Customer Service: (206) 684-3000
Media Inquiries: (206) 684-8358

SEATTLE – In the aftermath of yesterday’s historic rains, city of Seattle crews continue to clean up and assist residents in getting their lives back to normal. Today Mayor Greg Nickels declared a state of emergency for the city, which will allow the city to be reimbursed from state and federal emergency agencies.

View the Proclamation of Civil Emergency – (PDF)

“Now that yesterday’s rains have subsided, our first priority is to help our residents in the most need – those whose homes are uninhabitable because of flooding. We want to make sure they’re safe and warm. And our crews are also still out in force cleaning up in all areas of the city. I am extremely proud of the city employees who have worked around the clock to get us back to normal,” said Nickels.

If you live in Seattle and have been left homeless because of the rainstorm, or if you need other storm-related assistance, the number to call is 684-3000. Operators are available to help residents from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. from now through Friday. City staff from the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will be visiting neighborhoods that experienced the most extreme flooding to be sure that residents are getting the help they need.

Here is the latest information:

Seattle Public Utilities
Currently 20 Drainage and Wastewater crews are out in the field. Two Water crews are standing by if needed.

A pump station that overflowed from large volumes of rain at North 107 th and Midvale Avenue North continues to operate and, as required, SPU is in contact with state department of ecology, which is monitoring the situation to determine if there are any resulting issues.

A water main was exposed on Northeast 105th at 27th Avenue Northeast due to severe erosion. Crews are still working to repair damage. Drivers are urged to observe all traffic revisions out of concern for their safety and the safety of work crews.

The utility is working with King County to address public health concerns at Meadowbrook Pond where the area around the pond remains closed due to sewage backflow and contamination.

SPU and other city departments responded to approximately 20-25 slides throughout the city. No new slides have occurred today and the risk of slides is expected to decrease as rainfall subsides.

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT)
SDOT Street Maintenance had 47 people out today clearing streets with mechanical brooms and backhoes. Several streets have reopened, including Perkins Lane West and Lake Washington Boulevard South.

Engineers are planning the required repair to the void on 35th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 109th and Northeast 110 th. Steel plates cover the void and the street remains open. Crews will begin the repair as soon as possible.

Golden Gardens Drive requires a major repair. SDOT will oversee the design and construction under an expedited process because of the urgency of reopening the road. Construction will likely begin in April. The dog run will be accessible from the park at the bottom of the hill.

One southbound lane in the 2400 block of Westlake Avenue North remains closed. A private contractor is working to stabilize the slope, and repair drainage and side sewer lines in the hillside.

Seattle City Light
Seattle City Light repair crews are patrolling power lines in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, looking for the cause of an outage that disrupted service for about 4,000 customers today. The outage was reported at 2:35 p.m. The cause was not immediately known. An estimate for the time needed to restore service will not be available until the cause is determined.

The general boundaries of the outage are Northeast 201st Street on the north, Northeast 165th Street on the south, 49th Place Northeast on the east and Corliss Avenue North on the west. Not all customers within those boundaries are affected.

Debris Disposal
Residents in areas severely impacted by flooding can call 684-3000 to get help with debris disposal. Residents planning to file claims need to document all damages. Before any damaged items are thrown away, residents should photo document and prepare a list of all the damaged items.

For information about filing a claim against the city of Seattle, go to the city’s Risk Management website or call 684-8213. If you plan to file a claim, it’s important to photo document the item(s) and prepare a list of all damaged items. Simply filing a claim does not mean the city will pay for your damaged items. Instead, after a claim is filed, the city investigates to determine if the city’s systems did not function properly.

Residents of geographic King County are urged to report their losses to King County using this online form.

This information will assist Washington state when requesting federal assistance because of this disaster. It may be several weeks before there is official determination of what disaster relief programs may be available. Reporting of damages does not guarantee residents will receive assistance of any kind. If a federal declaration is announced for this weather event, property owners will receive additional information on how to file claims with Federal Emergency Management Agency. For more information, visit this Web site.

Visit the mayor’s Web site. Get the mayor’s inside view on initiatives to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter.

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Seattle Public Utilities