A record-breaking amount of rain led to flooding Dec. 3 causing Emergency Operations Centers to be activated in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park. Although there were various reports of flooded roads, garages and basements throughout both cities, preliminary reports by Tuesday, Dec. 4, indicated there were no life threatening incidents.
“We’re trying to access the needs,” Shoreline public works director Mark Relph said on Tuesday. “It was obviously a very, very significant event.”
Shoreline crews responded to calls about flooding beginning at 2 a.m. on Dec. 3 Throughout the day, four city streets were closed, including Meridian Avenue North between North 167th Street and North 175th Street, Corliss Avenue at 171st and 172nd Streets, Innis Arden Way south of 10th Avenue North and 25th Avenue Northeast at Ballinger.
Although free sandbags were distributed to residents at Hamlin Park, when Leslie Galvin arrived, the supplies were depleted. As several inches of rain threatened to swallow her Espresso Oasis coffee stand on 10th Avenue Northeast and North 185th Street, she tried asking city staff for help.
“They didn’t have any more sandbags so I asked for one of the pumps,” she said.
Galvin’s request was driven into the flooded parking lot at 1 p.m. she said. A hose pumped the water around her business back out onto North 185th Street.
“My boots are so soaking wet from trying to walk through three feet of water,” she said. “People couldn’t drive through so I would hand deliver coffee, walking through puddles.”
According to Relph, information gathered by Tuesday, Dec. 4, showed the city department received 184 calls from throughout the city beginning on Sunday night and lasting until 9 p.m. on Monday.
“The Ronald Bog area experienced the most concentrated flooding problems,” he said. “We contacted 17 homes in the area and nine were actually inundated with water. We followed up this (Tuesday) morning and ordered some large dumpsters.”
The American Red Cross opened a shelter Monday at the Spartan Gym to house and feed North King County residents of apartment buildings closed due to flooding.
By Tuesday afternoon, all city roads were open and the shelter had been disbanded.
At 6 p.m. on Nov. 4, the city of Lake Forest Park issued a press release to announce that all local roads were reopened and crews were evaluating storm related damage throughout the city.
“We’re just starting the damage reports,” city administrator David Cline said. “We expect to have those by early next week.”
Flooding occurred across roadways throughout the city Dec. 3 after water levels in both McAleer and Lyon creeks reached capacity and overflowed their banks.
Throughout the day, Bothell Way near Towne Centre was closed down to a single southbound lane and water covered roads including Beach Drive and Shore Drive. A portion of Northeast 162nd Street was closed because of possible mudslides.
“There was a lot of flooding of people’s basements,” Cline said. “I don’t know of any major city structure that was damaged.”
It was a lucky break for parents and students that the Shoreline School District had a planned non-student day Monday, Dec. 3.
Shorewood High School parent Pam Isabell took a run about 5 p.m. near her home and saw that a large area along Ridgefield Drive was washed out, with pipes exposed. Many ditches were full, as was the retention pond on Northeast 175th Street, she said Monday.
Isabell was grateful her kids didn’t have to go to school that day.
“That was fortunate for us,” she said.
There were no major leaks or flooding at any school, and no weather-related disruptions for the return to school on Tuesday, said Craig Degginger, public information officer for the Shoreline School District.
For a few residents, in the rain was where they wanted to be.
“The kids don’t have school today so we drove through it, went exploring and looked around,” Lars Peterson said while standing on the corner of Bothell Way and Northeast 170th Street. “This is the worst of it.”
Student Anton Resing watched cars travel through the intersection.
“If it snows, I would rather have snow but this is really cool,” he said.
Enterprise reporter Sarah Koenig contributed to this report.
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