KING COUNTY, Wash. — Dramatic video released by the King County Sheriff’s Office in Washington shows a man being airlifted to safety this week after being trapped on the roof of his SUV, surrounded by floodwaters.
This was one of many air and swiftwater rescues that took place across the western part of the state. Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a State of Emergency Wednesday after rivers rose to historic levels as a powerful atmospheric river delivered more than a foot-and-a-half of rain to some locales over the course of several days.
A person stops to capture cellphone images as flood waters from the Snohomish River cover a portion of State Route 9 in Snohomish, Washington, on December 11, 2025. Tens of thousands of people were under evacuation orders Thursday in western North America, after days of heavy rain forced rivers to burst their banks. Storms have battered Washington state in the US and British Columbia over the Canadian border for several days, with rivers continuing to rise.
((Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
The King County, Washington Sheriff’s Office said one of their officers used a drone to drop a lifejacket to a man trapped on the roof of his SUV by historic flooding along the Snoqualmie River. The man was later airlifted to safety by a helicopter crew from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
STATE OF EMERGENCY: WASHINGTON GOVERNOR URGES CAUTION AMID HISTORIC FLOODING ACROSS THE STATE
Dozens of local and state roads and portions of Interstate highways have been closed to flooding as rivers and creeks overflow their banks.
The Snoqualmie River at Carnation, Washington, in King County crested at nearly 59 inches Thursday, just a couple of inches shy of the river’s record height.
First responders across the county evacuated people by air and by boat and shelters have been opened across the county for the displaced.
Flood Warnings remain in place across parts of King County through Saturday morning.
