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Omaha Steve

(99,073 posts)
Fri Feb 7, 2020, 09:06 PM Feb 2020

Rescues by chopper, front loader as flood hits northwest US

Source: AP

By GILLIAN FLACCUS

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Residents in the foothills of the towering Blue Mountains in rural northeast Oregon were plucked from their flooded homes by helicopter and others rode to safety in the bucket of a front-end loader as relentless rain and melting snow pushed multiple rivers over their banks.

An earlier heavy snowfall in the mountains combined with two days of steady rain and warming temperatures to unleash floodwaters on the city of Pendleton and rural, mountain foothill communities to its east late Thursday and Friday. The Umatilla River crested just before 10 p.m. Thursday at more than 19 feet (5.79 meters), nearly four times the average height for that date. Rivers all around the region overran their banks, setting records as they went.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency in Umatilla, Wallowa and Union counties late Friday to help communities deal with the severe flooding. The declaration means Oregon can mobilize the National Guard if needed

Authorities were still conducting search and rescue operations Friday with two helicopters, trying to reach residents still boxed in by high water in rural communities like Gibbon and Bingham Springs. They also described a chaotic scene from late Thursday, when rescue personal had to improvise to get the last few residents out of a rapidly flooding area of Pendleton using heavy machinery usually used for road maintenance.



In this Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020 photo, Nate Fuller and Archie Morrow await rescue on the roof of a home in Thorn Hollow outside of Adams, Ore. The pair were stranded when they attempted to rescue the elderly couple who were stuck in the house as waters from the Umatilla River began to rise. All were rescued by helicopter that evening. Severe flooding in eastern Oregon closed a major freeway on Friday, forced evacuations in low-lying areas and stranded at least one family on their roof as other parts of the Pacific Northwest also braced for more flooding and landslides. (Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/d1338d20fe7a757789566bb5d90c1bb0

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Rescues by chopper, front loader as flood hits northwest US (Original Post) Omaha Steve Feb 2020 OP
Oh my ... Delphinus Feb 2020 #1
Yikes!! 2naSalit Feb 2020 #2
Chunks of I-84 are shut down too MissB Feb 2020 #3

MissB

(15,800 posts)
3. Chunks of I-84 are shut down too
Sat Feb 8, 2020, 12:29 AM
Feb 2020

Several semis stranded in water. One semi rolled over a car as it was pushed off the road by the water.

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