ENVS 299: Topics in Environmental Science

This photo looks north probably from the site of the present Salem (Oregon) City Hall . The Courthouse and the church spire of the First Methodist Church on State Street can be seen beyond the flood waters.
Image source: City of Salem. Barrick Funeral Home post card series, Salem in the Past.

This photo is of the destruction from Willamette River flood waters at the foot of State Street in Salem, Oregon. The date was the spring of 1890.

The first bridge built across the Willamette River at Salem, Oregon, in 1886. The builder was R.S. Wallace. He had large fruit orchards in Polk County and a cannery on 12th Street in Salem, and needed a way to get his fruit to Salem. He was President of the old Capital National Bank on Commercial Street and was instrumental in the development of early Salem. His son Paul donated Wallace Park on the west side of the river; Wallace Road in west Salem lead to the Wallace farm. The bridge was steel and could be reached by steps from the river bank. The bridge was carried away in the big flood in the spring of 1890.
Image courtesy of the City of Salem's Oregon Historical Photograph Collection.

This flood was one of the worst in Portland’s history, submerging 250 square blocks and causing extensive damage.

This picture is of 3rd street, Portland, between Washington and Burnside during the 1894 Willamette River flood, June 1894. Oregon Historical Society Research Library, OrHi 3845.

Above average snowfall was recorded in the mountains of the Columbia River watershed. Deep snow remained in place into May due to abnormally low temperatures. Then above normal temperatures accompanied two major rainstorms May 19 to 23, 1948, and again May 26 to 29 melted the snow, creating high water levels not seen since the record flood of 1894.

Heavy rain caused the Columbia and its tributaries to rise, reaching 8 feet (2.4 m) above flood stage in the Portland area by May 25. Vanport was especially vulnerable to flooding, since it was built on reclaimed lowlands along the Columbia River. A radio alert was issued the night before the flood, and some residents moved their belongings into attics and upper floors.

On the morning of Memorial Day, May 30, 1948, the Housing Authority of Portland issued the following statement: "Remember: Dikes are safe at present. You will be warned if necessary. You will have time to leave. Don't get excited."

At 4:17 p.m. the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway berm burst, sending a 10-foot wall of water into the area of Vanport College. Because of the numerous sloughs and backwaters in the area, the progress of the flood was delayed about 30 minutes, giving residents more time to escape.

An unusually wet period occurred over the State of Oregon during the April 6 to 21, 2019 time period when an atmospheric river event transported a tremendous amount of moisture from the Pacific Ocean across Oregon. The heavy rainfall combined with snowmelt runoff set the stage for an extended period of flooding from the Willamette Valley to Eastern Oregon. Reservoirs were near full capacity in early April. The sequence of events of swollen rivers, full reservoirs, and record breaking rainfall caused widespread flooding, flash flooding, mudslides and landslides across the state, with Curry, Douglas, Grant, Linn, Umatilla and Wheeler counties being the most severely impacted.