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Climate Hazards Are the Duwamish Valley’s Top Concern, Survey Finds

Published on June 5, 2023

Photograph of Duwamish river seen from South Park Bridge, Seattle, Washington.
Duwamish river seen from South Park Bridge, Seattle, Washington. Image Credit: brewbooks (CC BY-SA 2.0)

A new study of Duwamish Valley residents in South Park and Georgetown shows that more people list environmental impacts as one of their top-three concerns than any other problem facing the area, followed by crime and cost of living.

The Duwamish Valley Climate Resilience Survey was a joint project of city agencies, university researchers and community groups wrestling with how to prepare residents for environmental hazards. The Duwamish Valley is one of the most climate-vulnerable parts of Seattle, already experiencing some impacts of climate change much sooner than anticipated. Flooding exacerbated by king tides in December 2022 displaced more than two dozen households, and the Duwamish River remains a Superfund cleanup site.

DEOHS researchers collaborated with the City of Seattle, Public Health–Seattle & King County, the state Department of Health and the Duwamish River Community Coalition to survey nearly 170 households in at least five languages about their current levels of disaster preparedness and what they need to feel more secure. The survey confirms and highlights the needs Duwamish Valley residents have expressed anecdotally to community leaders like Paulina López, executive director of DRCC.

Continue reading at Crosscut.


Originally written by Hannah Weinberger for Crosscut.
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