Levee breaches in Washington, prompting evacuations, as atmospheric river renews flood threat

(CNN) — A levee has breached on the rising Green River, just east of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in western Washington, as another atmospheric river dumps rain over the Pacific Northwest.

The Desimone levee breached near the city of Tukwila around noon local time on Monday. The levee is meant to reduce flood risks to more than 30,000 people in Tukwila, Kent and Renton.

“We are asking the public to avoid the area and people in the area to evacuate,” a King County Office of Emergency Management spokesperson said early Monday afternoon.

A flash flood warning was issued for more than 45,000 people in the affected area.

Last week, crews installed an “emergency flood fighting measure” called a seepage blanket to “help stabilize” the important levee, according to the King County Department of Natural Resources.

The Green River near Tukwila has risen about 15 feet over the past week because of multiple rounds of torrential rainfall from an earlier atmospheric river. When the levee breached, the river’s water level was just under 22 feet – higher than it’s been in the past 60 years.

The state is still recovering from historic flooding across its western reaches after heavy rain from that first atmospheric river sent rivers to record-breaking levels last week.

More rain is coming

Monday’s storm is drenching parts of Washington, Oregon and far northwestern California. Rivers were once again on the rise in the afternoon. Soaking rain in the mountains was also ramping up landslide threats.

A second, colder atmospheric river will bring periods of additional rain on Tuesday through Wednesday, keeping rivers elevated and slowing recovery from last week’s flooding. It will also usher in stronger winds that could down trees and power lines.

A third storm is likely to hit the region Thursday. Details are still coming into focus, but even more rain, wind and high elevation snow is possible through the end of the week.