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Flooding
on the Slough: "Pineapple Express"
Below. Many who lived
on the managed floodplains became angry with a government
that promised them protection. The 1948 flood
extended from British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean,
and the Vanport disaster became the symbol for future
flood control on the Columbia. River communities experience
over $100 million in property damage and lost 51 lives
in the flood. Courtesy of Multnomah Drainage District
The
Vanport Flood was not the first, nor would it be the
last, Columbia River flood. The river gauge at Vancouver
read 28.3 feet the day the public housing project flooded.
The 1894 "flood of record" reached 36 feet
at Vancouver, Washington, and other large floods took
place in 1862, 1876, and 1880. Together, the Army Corps
of Engineers and local drainage districts constructed
61 flood control projects in the early twentieth century,
from the mouth of the Sandy River to the sea. The
Vanport Flood occurred after the largest population
increase in the region, with comprehensive development
of the Columbia River already underway. Despite the
uncontrollable nature of the Columbia, the Vanport flood
provided further justification for dam building on the
river.
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Regular flooding
is still a fact of life in Columbia River communities.
The 1964-65 Christmas floods reached 30 feet at
Vancouver, and in 1996, warm rains on snow, a
"pineapple express," brought the river
level to approximately 29 feet. The Multnomah
Drainage District scrambled to prevent property
damage in slough communities. Four months of high
water, poor communication, and lack of emergency
planning during 1996 renewed public agency flood
preparation in the Portland area.
Right. Willamette River in flood stage,
1996. Courtesy of Army Corps of Engineers
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President Harry Truman talking about comprehensive
river development in the Columbia Basin, May 1948, at the Portland
Civic Auditorium. Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society
Broadcast Media Archives
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