Powerful floods batter the Pacific Northwest

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published December 17, 2025 at 7:59 AM AKST

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This photo provided by Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue shows a rescue crew responding to a high-water rescue call as heavy rains from an atmospheric river soaked the Pacific Northwest on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in Sultan, Washington. (Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue via AP)

A string of atmospheric rivers caused flooding in the Pacific Northwest, leading to infrastructure failure and dangerous conditions in parts of Western Washington and at least one death.

KUOW environment reporter John Ryan joins Here & Now‘s Indira Lakshmanan for an update on how the region is responding.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.