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Issaquah Creek is rising: how to prepare and recover

Issaquah Creek floods every few years in big winter storms. Here is what to do before, during and after.

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How often it floods

Issaquah Creek drains the hills south of town and runs through the valley floor past the salmon hatchery and Gilman Village to Lake Sammamish. Heavy rain on saturated ground raises it quickly. It flooded in January 2009, again in February 2020, when more than 200 people were evacuated from three apartment complexes, and again in the December 2025 atmospheric river.

The streets most at risk are on the valley floor near the creek and its tributaries, including parts of Gilman Boulevard, Front Street and Newport Way.

Before the rainy season

  • Find out if your home is in a mapped flood zone. FEMA flood maps are online, and the city can help.
  • Look into flood insurance. An NFIP policy usually takes 30 days to start.
  • Clean gutters and make sure downspouts carry water away from the house.
  • Store valuables, papers and photos off the floor on lower levels.
  • Test your sump pump and think about a battery backup.

When a flood warning is out

  • Sign up for King County flood alerts and watch local news.
  • Move cars to higher ground.
  • Carry valuables and electronics to an upper floor.
  • If you have sandbags, place them at doorways and garage doors on the creek side.
  • Charge phones and have a plan to leave if told to evacuate.
  • Stay out of moving water, on foot or in a car.

After the water goes down

  1. Wait for the all clear and make sure the power to flooded areas is off.
  2. Photograph everything before cleanup, for your flood insurance claim.
  3. Treat flood water as contaminated. Wear boots and gloves and keep kids out.
  4. Call to get a crew started on pumping, mud removal and drying. Call now.
  5. Throw out food, medicine and cosmetics the water touched.
  6. Have an electrician check outlets and the panel if water reached them.

What a crew will remove

Flood water carries silt and bacteria, so porous materials it touched usually come out: carpet and pad, drywall and insulation up to a foot or more above the water line, and particleboard cabinets. Hard surfaces and framing get cleaned, treated and dried.

Related services in Issaquah

  • Creek and storm flooding: Cleanup after Issaquah Creek or a tributary leaves its banks, or heavy rain pushes water into a garage or lower floor.
  • Basement and crawl space water: Water in a daylight basement or under the house from groundwater, failed drains or a plumbing leak.
  • Mold and structural drying: Dry walls, floors and framing after a leak, and remove mold that started where water sat too long.

Ready to get a crew on the way?

  1. Where the water started, if you can tell: a supply line, the water heater, a toilet, a dishwasher, the creek, or rain getting in.
  2. Whether it is clean water, gray water from an appliance, or sewage.
  3. Which rooms and floors got wet, and about how long ago it started.
  4. Whether the water and the power to the wet rooms are off.
  5. Your neighborhood or nearest cross street, so the call goes to a crew that works your part of town.

Plan on a couple of minutes on the phone. That is usually enough to reach a local company and get a time for someone to come out.

Call (425) 555-0150

The call is free. You don't have to hire anyone.

Common questions

How do I know if my house is in the Issaquah Creek floodplain?

Check the FEMA Flood Map Service Center online by address, or contact the City of Issaquah. Homes just outside the mapped zone can still flood, so it is worth looking at flood coverage either way.

Will FEMA pay for flood damage?

FEMA aid is only available after a federal disaster declaration, and it is usually limited. Flood insurance is the main way most homeowners recover the cost of flood damage.

Water damage? Tap to call(425) 555-0150