CONTACT: Patricia Graesser 206-764-3760, cell 206-229-7087

SEATTLE -- The Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers', flood fight teams remain out in western Washington river basins tonight with one crew actively repairing a breached levee near Orting. 

Flood teams have deployed to assist Pierce County with a repair to a 700-foot section of breached levee along the Puyallup River. Work is expected to continue through the night and into the morning of Nov. 14. Teams are also out in the Snohomish, Nooksack, Green, and Skagit river basins and the Olympic Peninsula and are prepared to assist counties as requested in flood fighting operations.  Teams are actively monitoring levees in the Skagit and Snohomish basins after levee reinforcement work Nov. 12 on the Skagit River and sand bag assistance on the Skykomish River.

The reservoir control center is managing flood control operations for dams on the White and Green rivers.

Public Law 84-99 enables the Corps to assist state and local authorities in flood fight activities and cost share in the repair of flood protection structures. The purpose is to prevent loss of life and minimize property damage associated with severe weather. The Seattle District has invested $350,000 in flood risk reduction measures since Tuesday and supplied 12,500 sandbags to Snohomish County and 10,000 to the town of Orting. 

For more information on the Corps, and up-to-date river forecasts, go to www.nws.usace.army.mil and click on Rivers and Reservoirs. Lake and river information is available at: http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/nws/hh/basins/

Private citizens seeking sandbags should contact their local government offices.
 
The National Weather Service issues flood watches and warnings and should be consulted for that information.