The town of Drain in Douglas County saw extensive flooding due to the weekend storm.
Courtesy of North Douglas County Fire & EMS
Heavy rains battered areas of Southern Oregon this weekend, resulting in widespread flooding and damage.
The National Weather Service reports parts of Douglas County saw record amounts of rain over a 24-hour period. As of Monday afternoon, sections of multiple rivers were flooding including the South Umpqua River, the Rogue River and the Coquille River. Deer Creek near Roseburg also hit record levels.
“It was a very wet event in a short amount of time, which really pushed the rivers… into moderate and major floods,” said Charles Smith, a meteorologist with NWS’s Medford office.
The storm, described by Smith as an atmospheric river, also hit Josephine County. McKenzi Polder in Grants Pass said her family had five pumps running to keep water from Sand Creek out of their home.
“My garage probably had four inches of water. When it got in the living room, we pulled up the carpet and there’s probably a half-inch of standing water still this morning,” said Polder who has a GoFundMe page for donations.
Images shared on social media show widespread flooding in the town of Drain in Douglas County. And authorities posted video of an unoccupied RV carried away by the Sixes Rivers near the coast.
Jackson County authorities also reported that a woman drowned in Central Point after storm waters swept her into Kane Creek. The victim was clearing branches from a culvert when her waders filled with water, pulling her under.
Northern California saw landslides in Humboldt County on Highway 36. Slides were also reported on Highway 42, 42S and 138W on the Oregon side.
The forecast for Southern Oregon calls for more rain but meteorologists say the worst of the storm is over.
“It’s more or less on its way out right now,” said Smith.
Justin Higginbottom is a reporter with Jefferson Public Radio. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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