Flood closes highway near Oregon
Waters covering the roads begin to recede, but a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 84 remains closed due to damage.
PENDLETON, Ore. — Waters covering roads in flood-hit northeastern Oregon were starting to recede, allowing residents to return and assess the damage.
An approximately 10mile stretch of Interstate 84 south of Hermiston, Oregon, remained closed Sunday due to flood damage and authorities say it could be a week before it reopens.
Oregon National Guard troops aboard two helicopters airlifted 21 people to safety on Saturday, and authorities reported a 62year-old woman who lived in one of the areas hit by floods was missing.
Residents in the foothills of the Blue Mountains in northeast Oregon had to be airlifted by from their flooded homes by helicopter and even were taken out in a front-end loader as rain and melting snow caused rivers to crest their banks.
Seventeen evacuees spent Friday night at the Red Cross shelter in the Pendleton Convention Center, said Nadine McCrindle, the Red Cross executive director for central and eastern Oregon. Another eight people stayed at a shelter in Walla Walla, Washington.
“They’ll be able to go to their homes and see what is left, if anything, and see what the damage is,” McCrindle said.
The forecast was for mostly sunny skies and no rain Monday.
Many roads in Umatilla County, where Pendleton is the county seat, were still closed because of high water or damage, the county sheriff ’s office said.
The Umatilla River crested late Thursday night at more than 19 feet, nearly four times the average height for that date. Rivers all around the region overran their banks.
In Washington state, there was widespread flooding in the Walla Walla Valley. Waters were receding but authorities were assessing damage in communities such as Waitsburg.