1942 — Dec (late) to first week of Jan 1943, flooding, Willamette Valley, Western OR — 10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-29-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–10 AP. “10 Dead, Hundreds Homeless. Flood Ebbs; Outbreak of TY.” Oakland Tribune, 1-4-1943, 1.
–10 AP. “Huge Damages to Property After Oregon Flood.” Bakersfield Californian, 1-5-1943, p4.[1]
–10 Environmental Data Service. “Losses in Individual Severe Floods in the [US],” p. 791.
–10 Sullivan. Oregon’s Greatest Natural Disasters. 2008, p. 130.[2]
–10 Zimmerman. “Timeline: Notable floods in Salem since 1900,” Statesman Journal, 2-21-2016.[3]
— 7 by Jan 2. AP. “7 Die; Flood Damage in North Grows.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 1-3-1943, p1.
— 6 by Jan 1. UP. “Wild Logs Hit Flooded Oregon.” Bakersfield Californian, 1-2-1943, p. 1.
Locality Breakouts:
–2 Albany vicinity. Auto swept/skids into ditch; mother and 5-mo. son. Sullivan 1008, p. 129.[4]
–1 Glenwood. Shock; elderly female “paralysis victim,” after being rescued from her home.[5]
–1 Molalla area. Elderly man apparently “carried away by an overflowing drainage ditch…”[6]
–1 Portland. Drowning; female, “after her car was swept from the highway.”[7]
–2 Salem. State hwy dept. workmen trying to set charges to blow bldg. wedged against bridge.[8]
–2 Wendling area. Water-related landslide; two loggers.[9]
–1 Location not noted, other than “mid-valley.” Rowboat capsizes, farmer drowns (Heffner).[10]
Narrative Information
Jan 1: “Portland, Ore., Jan 1.–(AP)–Evacuation orders went out today to more flood-plagued Willamette Valley communities as a new crest mounted in the wake of an inundation that already has done damage estimated at $5,000,000.
“G. C. Mongold, resident U.S. Army engineer at Eugene, hub of the current Willamette River flood, told residents of Santa Clara, Riverwood, Glenwood and Good Pasture Island to quit their homes in those fertile farming lowlands. Between 1,000 and 2,000 residents left or were evacuated from their homes yesterday, mostly in West Springfield, where muddy water stood three feet deep today in the business and residential sections, and in Glenwood. But the new order was expected to affect almost 1,000 additional persons who were in the path of floodwaters that were rising one-tenth of a foot each hour after receding momentarily from a 16.7-foot to 15.8 at 8:00 p.m. last night. Eugene’s flood stage is 12 feet.
“In Linn County to the north, County Agent Floyd Mullen at Albany warned residents to prepare to move from lowland areas that were expected to be flooded for the first time in 15 years. A similar warning was issued by Benton County Sheriff William Harper at Corvallis. Flood crests were forecast for tomorrow in these down-river areas….” (AP. “Flood Routs Thousands in Oregon Valley.” The Bee, Danville, VA, 1-1-1943, p. 6.)
Jan 2: “Portland, Ore., Jan 2. (U.P.)–One million feet of logs from shattered upstream booms rode the flood crest of the berserk Willamette river into Portland today. Tumbling over a 6-foot broken wing dam at the Oregon City Falls, 14 miles below here, the logs lurched past houseboat settlements near the Oswego district, threatening to tear away the flimsy structures.
“Harbor patrolmen feared the swirling waters, reaching the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers after rampaging over valley lowlands last night, would ‘jackstraw’ the logs at Swan Island and Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation yards, endangering two of the largest shipyards in the northwest. They said, however, the logs might rush into the Columbia river, missing the crucial jut-off where the Willamette flows by the yards, and pass ‘harmlessly’ into the broader Columbia river. Small craft had been warned from both rivers, the patrol reported.
“The wing dam at Oregon City, a 6-foot barrier above the rocks on the east side of the natural falls, went out a little more than an hour before the logs were first sighted at Portland.
“Upstream, the flood already had taken six lives, inundated thousands of acres, and left at least 2500 homeless.
“Many farm residents were still awaiting rescue in the flood back-waters around Eugene, where the Willamette and McKenzie converge. Damage in this district alone was estimated at $5,000,000.
“A major tragedy occurred at Albany, where many units of a trailer camp, established near the river bank, were swept down-stream as the flood crest moved down the valley. Uncountable thousands of acres, from the headwaters of the Willamette as far north as Salem, Ore., were under water. Tributaries also were spilling over their banks. Known dead were:
Mrs. Marvin Smith and her 5-month-old son, drowned at Albany as their car skidded into the rampaging water.
Archie Brooks and J. W. Thorne, loggers, buried under a landslide near Wendling.
Mrs. Josephine Lee, Glenwood, aged paralysis victim, who died of shock in Springfield after being rescued from her home by soldiers from Camp Adair.
Mrs. Helen R. Skrebensky, Portland, drowned near Cottage Grove after her car was swept from the highway.
“Seth French, government weather observer at Albany, predicted the Willamette would reach 30 feet, almost 7 above flood stage, before it was to subside during the day. Along the valley the river and its tributaries were expected to fall as the crest of the flood moved northward to the Willamette-Columbia river junction at Portland….” (United Press. “Wild Logs Hit Flooded Oregon.” Bakersfield Californian, 1-2-1943, p. 1.)
Jan 2: “Portland, Jan 2. — (AP) — The crest of the Willamette River flood bore down on Portland today, as the death toll on the upper river mounted to seven and the Navy said production in shipyards here would be curtailed. Damage already done totals millions.
“The Weather Bureau forecast a peak of 20.5 feet, 2.5 above flood stage, here tonight or early tomorrow.
“A major menace to bridges and other river installations was a log raft, containing 1,000,000 board feet of lumber, which broke loose in the Salem area and was bearing down upon Portland….
“A wooden superstructure atop the Willamette River Dam at Oregon City gave way. A towboat and barge crashed through the gap and shattered at the bottom of the falls there, but no crewmen were aboard….
“John Heffner, mid-valley farmer, was the seventh fatality, perishing in the capsizing of a rowboat.
“Thousands are homeless from the head of the valley to the Albany-Salem-Corvallis area. The Army reported it lost a few jeeps to the flood.
“Railroad schedules were resumed in Oregon, except between Marshfield and Coquille on the coast, where water stood over the tracks eight feet deep.
“Major West Oregon North-South highways still are blocked. To the eastward the Columbia River Highway is confined to one-way traffic. The Evergreen Highway on the northern side of the river is closed….” (AP. “7 Die; Flood Damage in North Grows.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 1-3-1943, p. 1.)
Jan 4: “Portland, Jan. 4.–(AP)–The worst Willamette River flood in years ebbed slowly today, leaving ten persons dead or missing. Hundreds still were homeless and thousands of acres of rich farmland were under water as Western Oregon’s largest river remained above flood level for half its length.
“Health authorities feared an outbreak of typhoid and rushed vaccine to McMinnville, Corvallis and Eugene. Dr. Frederick D. Stricker, State health officer, said water sources at small communities from West Salem to Eugene were contaminated, and that drinking water would have to be treated for some time.
“At Eugene the river dropped below flood stage, and farmers began returning to their silt-covered lands. Traffic was resumed over all major routes except the Coast Highway, still flooded between Coquille and Bandon, but highway officials said it would be a week before some secondary roads would be opened….
“From Salem to Portland the Willamette was above flood level, inundating canneries, warehouses, shipyards, paper and lumber mills. At Oregon City, near Portland, water was 12 feet deep over the city athletic field, and the main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad was blocked, the first time since 1893. Rail traffic was re-routed around the area.
“A concrete flood wall saved Portland proper, and below the city the Willamette emptied into the mile-wide Columbia, which easily carried off the flow.
“To rivermen there the flood provided a rich windfall. More than a million board feet of logs were washed away from upstream lumber mills, and they bobbed through Portland by the hundreds, giving the Willamette the appearance of an old-time log drive. Rivermen threw out chain booms to catch the logs, which will, by river custom, be brought back by lumber companies. The take will run into thousands of dollars.
“Of the flood victims, seven were known dead. Missing were two highway crewmen washed off wreckage at Salem, and an elderly man feared to have been carried away by an overflowing drainage ditch near Molalla.” (Associated Press. “10 Dead, Hundreds Homeless. Flood Ebbs; Outbreak of TY.” Oakland Tribune, 1-4-1943, p. 1.
Sources
Associated Press. “7 Die; Flood Damage in North Grows.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 1-3-1943, p. 1. Accessed 11-30-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-jan-03-1943-p-1/
Associated Press. “10 Dead, Hundreds Homeless. Flood Ebbs; Outbreak of TY.” Oakland Tribune, 1-4-1943, p. 1. Accessed 11-30-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-jan-04-1943-p-9/
Associated Press. “Flood Routs Thousands in Oregon Valley.” The Bee, Danville, VA, 1-1-1943, p. 6. Accessed 11-30-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/danville-bee-jan-01-1943-p-7/
Associated Press. “Huge Damages to Property After Oregon Flood.” Bakersfield Californian, 1-5-1943, p. 4. Accessed 11-30-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-jan-05-1943-p-4/
Environmental Data Service, NOAA. “Losses in Individual Severe Floods in the United States since July 1902.” Climatological Data National Summary (Annual) Vol. 22. No. 13, 1971. Accessed 4-26-2023 at:
Sullivan, William L. Oregon’s Greatest Natural Disasters. Eugene, OR: Navillus Press, 2008.
United Press. “Wild Logs Hit Flooded Oregon.” Bakersfield Californian, 1-2-1943, p. 1. Accessed 11-30-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-jan-02-1943-p-1/
Zimmerman. Andy. “Timeline: Notable floods in Salem since 1900,” Statesman Journal, Salem, OR. 2-21-2016. Accessed 11-30-2017 at: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2016/02/21/timeline-notable-floods-salem-since/80697400/
[1] “Portland, Ore., Jan. 5. (AP)–Western Oregon’s worst flood in 20 years swept toward the sea today leaving behind millions of dollars in property damage. Ten persons were killed by the torrents which reached their peak last week end.” Jan 5 was a Tuesday, thus reference is to Friday Jan 1 through Sunday Jan 3.
[2] Writes: “In December of 1942 it rained and rained in western Oregon. The dam engineers [Fern Ridge and Cottage Grove dams], not used to Willamette Valley floods, filled the reservoirs too early, making the Fern Ridge Dam useless when the flood’s crest hit. The Cottage Grove Dam lowered the floodwaters only six inches in Eugene. By New Years Day of 1943, hundreds of homes in the new Glenwood and River Road districts near Eugene stood in four feet of water.” (p, 129)
[3] Ten people were reportedly killed in Oregon.”
[4] Age of the boy from: United Press. “Wild Logs Hit Flooded Oregon,” Bakersfield Californian, 1-2-1943, p. 1.
[5] United Press. “Wild Logs Hit Flooded Oregon,” Bakersfield Californian, 1-2-1943, p. 1.
[6] We put “apparently” in that this person was noted by the AP as missing and feared dead. Reporting is that ten lives were lost and we have localities for nine. This, then, would be the tenth. (Associated Press. “10 Dead, Hundreds Homeless. Flood Ebbs; Outbreak of TY.” Oakland Tribune, 1-4-1943, p. 1.)
[7] United Press. “Wild Logs Hit Flooded Oregon,” Bakersfield Californian, 1-2-1943, p. 1.
[8] Associated Press. “7 Die; Flood Damage in North Grows.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 1-3-1943, p. 1. AP article notes the two as missing. Sullivan (2008, p. 129), writes: “In Salem, the flood floated the Mellow Moon, a dance hall and roller skating rink at the eastern foot of the city’s new Willamette River bridge….Alarmed that Salem might lose its only Willamette River bridge, as had happened in 1890, Oregon Governor Charles A. Sprague ordered the state highway department to dynamite the Mellow Moon. Workers were setting the charges when the building disintegrating, sweeping away Archie Cook and Michael Maurer.”
[9] United Press. “Wild Logs Hit Flooded Oregon,” Bakersfield Californian, 1-2-1943, p. 1.
[10] Associated Press. “7 Die; Flood Damage in North Grows.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 1-3-1943, p. 1. (John Heffner)