In the wake of the tragic Guadalupe River flood in Texas last week, the Carnation community is growing increasingly concerned over the lack of a reliable audible alert system for the Tolt River Dam.
The Tolt Dam, owned and operated by the City of Seattle, would cause catastrophic damage to Carnation and force city-wide evacuation if it ever were to break. Since June 2020, the City of Seattle has failed to deliver a reliable warning system to Carnation residents, despite enduring eight system failures. As a result, the audible alarm system has been turned off since March 2024.
“The Tolt Dam supplies Seattle with $30 million in yearly revenue. The City of Carnation receives no water from the dam, or any revenue,” said Deputy Mayor Ribail. “Seattle’s asset poses a significant risk to our community. All we ask is that they mitigate that risk.”
Although there were wireless alerts in place in Texas, they alone did not provide the comprehensive early warning needed to save lives and activate a timely evacuation.
“As a small City, Carnation continues to seek funding from King County, Seattle Public Utilities, and FEMA for emergency evacuation planning,” says Mayor Adair Hawkins. “The safety of our residents and visitors is of utmost importance.”
The deadly Texas floods spanned across six counties. Kendall County was the only county with an audible early warning system and had no loss of life.
“No one died in Comfort, a town of about 2,300 people in Kendall County, but in Kerr County about 20 miles away, dozens of people, including young girls staying at Camp Mystic, a riverside Christian summer camp, were washed away when the Guadalupe surged over its banks and swamped the surrounding countryside,” (NBC News).
Given Carnation’s high tourism and recreational population, many of whom are unaware they are downstream from a dam, it is crucial that the outdoor sirens are operational and managed by an entity capable of delivering immediate notifications without relying on cellular service.
“Kerr County was relying on the emergency alerts that blare on cellphones. Those alerts may not get through, particularly in rural areas with bad service or in the night when phones are off or when there are no phones around; the girls at the summer camp weren’t allowed to bring them.” (NBC News)
In summary, this tragedy provides a heartbreaking lesson that sole reliance on phone-based emergency alerts presents significant challenges, particularly during the night, in recreational areas or when devices may not be readily accessible.
[Information provided by the City of Carnation]
Comments
please let’s petition together for siren flood alerts in Carnation
I agree with the need for a publicly audible alert system that does not depend solely upon cell phone infrastructure or contacts to government agencies.
It seems to be a foolish budget cut that puts people at risk because the solution is “good enough.”
Melissa:
There is a Snoqualmie mayoral debate, presumably this week, but I have seen no confirmation or details about when and where. Do you know