The Oregonian
The Oregonian
Keizer
Fifty years ago, weather conditions conspired to create what would become one of the most destructive events in the recorded history of the Pacific Northwest. Now known as The 1964 Christmas Flood, it destroyed roads, homes and businesses and took at least 17 lives. Recovery costs ran into the multi-millions if not billions. Pictured here, Mrs. Darold Strean of Keizer sits among the few items she was able to salvage from her home after The 1964 Christmas Flood.
John Killen | jkillen@oregonian.com
Keizer
This aerial view shows entire neighborhoods that have been flooded by the Willamette River.
The Oregonian
Keizer
Steve Wood, 16, son of North Wood, Salem, posted a "for sale" sign at the spot where the Willamette River washed away the family home, located in the suburb of Keizer.
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Detroit
Supplies were moved by cable to Detroit and Idanha when Whitman Creek caused washouts and slides. The cable crossing was between Detroit and the Detroit Reservoir Dam.
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Rufus
Much of the Columbia Gorge community of Rufus was wiped out by this mudslide.
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Rufus
A tangled mass of aluminum was all that remained of a big house trailer that was caught in flooding and a mudslide in the heart of Rufus.
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Rufus
Donna Bruce showed how ropes were used to help her neighbors out of trailer court alongside highway in Rufus.
The Oregonian
Rufus
Many of the streets of Rufus disappeared under avalanche of mud and boulders borne out of a canyon in hills south of town. Most houses had 2 or 3 feet of water and days later, some were still deep in mud.
John Killen | jkillen@oregonian.com
Rufus
More evidence of the massive mud slide that hit Rufus could be seen at the site of a small concrete bridge in the Columbia River Gorge town.
The Oregonian
Rufus
An abandoned Christmas tree can be seen on the front porch of this home in Rufus, one of the towns devastated by mudslides caused the intense rainfall during the 1964 Christmas Flood.
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Green Peter Dam
The Green Peter Dam was under construction at the time of the flood and damage to the project site was estimated at $1 million by the U.S. Army Engineers. The construction of the dam was delayed for months.
The Associated Press
Rogue River
Dodge Bridge on Oregon 234, 15 miles north of Medford, was among five bridges knocked out or damaged by raging Rogue River in Jackson County.
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Most of this bridge across the North Umpqua River in Roseburg was washed away during the flood.
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Newberg
Dr. John Gerin, Newberg dentist, used a boat to inspect his house, threatened by the rising Willamette River that flooded this residential area two miles east of Newberg.
The Oregonian
Tigard
Even days after the worst of the flood, backwaters of the Tualatin River made going to school more of a chore for three youngsters south of Tigard. Greg Kurath, 12, a student at Tuality School, rowed his sister, Karen, 16, who attended Tigard High School, and Steven Von Hagen, 10, who attended Tualatin Grade School, across flooded Southwest Hazelbrook and Roy roads near Highway 99W.
The Oregonian
John Day River Bridge
Raging water in the John Day River undermined the footings of the new John Day River Bridge in the Columbia River Gorge. Three people died as a result of the collapse of the bridge, which carried Interstate 80 North (now I-84).
The Oregonian
John Day River Bridge
Raging water in the John Day River undermined the footings of the new John Day River Bridge in the Columbia River Gorge. Three people died as a result of the collapse of the bridge, which carried Interstate 80 North (now I-84).
The Oregonian
John Day River Bridge
Raging water in the John Day River undermined the footings of the new John Day River Bridge in the Columbia River Gorge. Three people died as a result of the collapse of the bridge, which carried Interstate 80 North (now I-84).
The Oregonian
John Day River Bridge
The driver of this car was among three people who died after the raging water in the John Day River undermined the footings of the new John Day River Bridge in the Columbia River Gorge. The bridge carried Interstate 80 North (now I-84).
Dorian Studio Tillamook
Tillamook
Water reached the counter top in this drive-in restaurant just north of the Tillamook City limits along U.S. 101. Only half of the front door is above the water mark.
Dorian Studio Tillamook
Tillamook
This car was abandoned along U.S. 101 near the Ben Russel Chevrolet dealership, just north of Tillamook. Highway travel through area was routed via bypasses .
The Associated Press
Nehalem
Fire and flood were in store for Bud Yan, Nehalem home owner, on Christmas Eve when fire broke out in his home, which was already flooded. The road was under six feet of water, so boats belonging to Bob Taplin and Frank Corder took Fire Chief Dale Stockton and his crew out to the fire.
The Oregonian
Depoe Bay
Logs and other debris fill North Cove, at Depoe Bay.
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Coos Bay
Water was as much as 2 feet deep on South Broadway in downtown Coos Bay.
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An avalanche of rocks, logs and other debris smashed into the Harry Engle home at Wildcat Creek. Engel was last seen on the front porch when the slide hit.
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Lorraine Goodson, a cook at the Alpine Hut, crosses the Zigzag River in a cable hoist. For several days, it was the only way to get across the river before U.S. 26 was reopened. Joie Smith, right, provided pulling power on the temporary rigging.
The Oregonian
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Wildcat Creek on the slopes of Mount Hood more than earned its name durin The 1964 Christmas Flood.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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Houses hang over the edge of the Zigzag River bank in Rhododendron after the the flood
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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Many people who owned summer homes in the Rhododendron area returned to sights such as this in the days after water from The 1964 Christmas Flood turned the Zigzag River into a raging torrent.
The Oregonian
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Crews rebuild the approaches to the Zigzag River bridge near Rhododendron. The bridge survived the flood, but its approaches were torn away.
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The Oregonian
Oregon City
Water was as deep as 15 feet along some parts of Washington Avenue in Oregon City. National Guardsmen patrolled the area for a time after reports of looting.
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Oregon City
Willamette Falls became Willamette Rapids during the 1964 Christmas Flood.
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Oregon City
The superimposted arrow points to where Southeast 82nd Street dips into the Clackamas River near Oregon City. Also visible is the Southern Pacific rail line.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Oregon Citiy
The shopping center near the confluence of the Clackamas and Willamette rivers forms an island in flood waters.
State Highway Division
Willamette Valley
The Santiam River chose a new channel during the flood and in the process wiped out a section of the North Santiam Highway about two miles east of Idanha.
The Oregonian
Willamette Valley
Logs jam Wiley Creeek, south of the South Santiam Highway bridge at Foster. The State Highway Division contracted with loggers to remove the logs and other debris.
State Highway Division
Willamette Valley
This photo of flooding along U.S. 99 West in Corvallis appeared in The Oregonian on Christmas Eve 1964.
The Oregonian
Willamette Valley
The flood turned this farmland about 15 miles south of Salem into a lake for several days.
John Killen | jkillen@oregonian.com
Willamette Valley
Larry Larwood, 16, of Independence, indicates depth of crevasse that was caused by flood waters from the Willamette River. The water washed out new black top road near Independence.
The Oregonian
Biggs Junction
U.S. 30 through Biggs Junction in the Columbia River Gorge was impassable after flood waters knocked out this bridge. Bulldozers can be seen working to repair the damage.
The Oregonian
Biggs Junction
This boxcar and cabboose were knocked off their tracks near the town of Biggs in the Columbia River Gorge.
John Killen | jkillen@oregonian.com
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Rail yards in Northwest Portland were partially covered by flood waters from the Willamette River. This aerial photo looks south toward the Broadway Bridge and Memorial Coliseum.
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Multnomah County deputies, Sea Scouts and Boy Scouts all work to help people whose homes were flooded near Southeast 101st Avenue and Foster Road.
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Mud slides and water blocked Terwilliger Boulevard in Southwest Portland. The same stretch of road had been wiped out by a slide 10 years earlier.
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An unofficial measuring station at the Portland Police Bureau's Harbor Patrol statiion shows the depth of the Willamette reaching nearly 29 feet.
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Even free admission may not have been enough to attract visitors to Oaks Amusement Park during the flood. The floating floor at the park's skating rink did survive nicely, however.
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Except for these ducks, no one was playing golf at Waverly Country Club.
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Deputy Bill Farr of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office warned motorists away from a flooded area of Southeast 102nd Avenue and Foster Road.
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Interstate 5 can be seen under construction in this photo, which looks north along the east bank of the Willamette River. The ramps near the bottom of the photo are those connecting to the Hawthorne Bridge while the Morrison Bridge and Burnside Bridge can be seen, in order, to the north.
The Oregonian
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Water flows over the top of the harbor wall along the west shore of the Willamette River in downtown Portland. The Hawthorne Bridge and the Marquam Bridge -- still under construction -- can be seen in the background.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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Workers sandbag the harbor wall along the Willamette River in downtown Portland. Behind them is the old Public Market Building, which was home to the Oregon Journal. It was torn down in 1969 to make way for what has become Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
The Oregonian
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Water from flooding Columbia River broke the dike protecting trailer homes on Hayden Island. Thirty families had to be evacuated. Parking area for Jantzen Beach Park is at upper left. An auto race track is at upper right.
The Oregonian
Wilsonville
These homes in Wilsonville were flooded nearly to their roofs.
The Oregonian
Dunthorpe
A helicopter hovers over the west bank of the Willamette River near the Dunthorpe area between Lake Oswego and Portland.
The 1964 Christmas Flood, by the numbers
Lives lost:
Oregon: 17, The region: 47
Homes damaged or destroyed
Oregon: 7,032, California: 5,090, Washington: 153, Idaho: 150
Total: 12, 425
Trailers destroyed Total:
713
Losses (1964 dollars):
Oregon: $245 million, California: $200 million, Washington: $12 million, Idaho: $7.5 million
Willamette River crests
Eugene 22.6 feet (half foot below flood stage), Salem: 29.5 feet (1 ½ feet above flood stage), Portland: 29.8 feet (12 feet above flood stage)
Sources: "Wild Water," by Ellis Lucia; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
By the numbers
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