Local News

Your guide to the latest news from around the Northwest

At least one home was damaged when a pond was breached and water gushed down hill east of SR 203 at Northeast 124th Street near Duvall on Monday afternoon.  (Photo by Mark Harrison / The Seattle Times)

Crews responded late Monday morning to flooding around a home and roundabout near Carnation, apparently caused when a naturally occuring beaver dam broke loose in a three-to-four acre pond, said Lynne Miller, spokeswoman for King County Office of Emergency Management.

The water, along with mud and debris, traveled on a natural watershed, forcing road closures in the area of the roundabout at Northeast 124th Street and state Highway 203, Miller said. No injuries were reported.

Calls were reported to 911 shortly after 11 a.m., Miller said.

Public-works crews and police responded, she said.

Miller advised drivers not to ignore road closure signs.

Sharon and Ron Conn, who live near the worst of the flood damage, said they are trapped at home by the water.

Sharon Conn, who is retired, said her neighbors are facing the worst of the damage. The Conns went to survey the flood damage and think the first floor of their neighbors’ home is flooded.

“I think the road is pretty well washed out,” she said about Northeast 124th Street. “It’s just like raging river and right now they’re not letting anyone out. It was just this small little area here, we’re kind of isolated. There’s no other road out.”

The Conns knew about the beaver dam, but never worried about it.

“It was no big deal to us,” Sharon Conn said.

Flooding caused by a beaver dam break is not unusual. In April 2009, a breached dam built by a family of beavers sent a 10-foot cascade of water, trees and debris crashing through a beachfront community in Clinton, Island County. Eight homes in Clinton were hit, one left tilting after tons of water pushed it from its foundation.

– Seattle Times staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this post.