West Coast levee failures show growing risks from America’s aging flood defenses

Deadly Floods Due to Levee Failures Reflect Need for Infrastructure Investment

Levees were never designed to handle extreme weather that is now more common due to climate change.

West Coast levee failures show growing risks from America’s aging flood defenses

Days of heavy rain caused a levee on the White River to breach, sending water into Pacific, Wash., on Dec. 16, 2025. Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesIn recent weeks, powerful atmospheric river storms have swept across Washington, Oregon and California, unloading enormous amounts of rain. As rivers surged, they overtopped or breached multiple levees – those long, often unnoticed barriers holding floodwaters back from homes and towns. Most of the time, l…