Island County Commissioners declared a state of emergency Wednesday after four homes on South Whidbey were threatened with flooding.

Commissioner Helen Price Johnson said the homes were in the Mutiny Bay community. She said outbuildings were flooded and the flood waters threatened to undermine the foundations of the homes.

The commissioners passed the emergency declaration just after 3 p.m.

Public Works Director Bill Oakes said an outlet on a private beach was clogged with sand, causing the rainwater to back up onto the properties. He said workers went in with shovel and cleared it out by hand, which appears to have done the trick. The low tide tonight should help it drain.

“We’re keeping the emergency in effect for a few more days to make sure it’s really fixed,” he said.

Oakes explained that the emergency declaration allows public works employees to go onto private property to fix the problem.

“Contrary to what people think, we don’t go onto private property unless it’s an emergency or we have permission,” he said.

Oakes said the area hasn’t had any problems in the past that he’s aware of. He said it rained pretty hard all day on South Whidbey.

“It was a pretty decent soaker,” he said.