YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. – Residents in Yakima County are under Level 2 “Get Set” evacuation orders due to flooding along the Naches River. The Emergency Management Department issued the notice for areas within 200 feet on either side of the river, starting at the Little Naches River and extending east to South Naches Road in Naches.
The Elk Valley Lane area is experiencing flooding, and the Nile Road Bridge over Little Rattlesnake Creek has sustained significant damage.
Roy Flores, a resident of Naches for 27 years, shared his observations.
“We’ve seen the flooding down here below on the south side of the Highway 12 here, but never here on this side. It’s flooded pretty good; this is very unusual,” said Flores.
Flores noticed flooding near the Little Red Schoolhouse Tuesday morning around 10:00 a.m. He expressed surprise at the situation.
“This is the first time we’ve seen it this way. We’ve never seen it on this side of the road. There’s no reason for it to be on this side of the road. Naturally, the water is going to go wherever it can get free from the main river. So, it’s very unusual to see it right here at this location,” said Flores.
Evacuation notices were issued in areas near the Naches River by Yakima Valley Emergency Management.
Chase Tucker from Emergency Management explained the situation just before 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, noting that the evacuation zone includes approximately 500 homes and that 17 people have been rescued.
“It’s not typically an every year thing [to flood], especially at least not to this degree. Right. We lost a bridge this morning. That’s pretty significant. We’ll get some minor flooding every year. But this severe to the point that it took a bridge out to, it’s a pretty big deal,” said Tucker.
Residents are encouraged to bring basic supplies like food, water and clothing if they need to evacuate. Tucker emphasized the importance of staying aware of surroundings.
“Water catches people by surprise. It comes fast, it comes up fast and it blocks your path. That’s the big one, is every one of these people we’re having to rescue off the water is because it got stuck somewhere with water on all four sides of them,” said Tucker.
Information on whether your home is in the evacuation zone can be found on the Emergency Department’s website. Their Facebook page lists locations across the county offering sandbags for residents.
