The Christmas flood of 1964 was a major flood in the Pacific Northwest and some Northern California between December 18, 1964, and January 7, 1965, covering the Christmas holidays. Considered a 100-year flood, it is the worst flood in history recorded in almost every major river and river on the coast of Northern California and one of the worst to affect the Willamette River in Oregon. It also affects the southwestern parts of Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. In Oregon, 17 or 18 people died from the disaster, and that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The floods in Willamette cover 152,789 hectares (61,831.5 ha). The National Weather Service assessed floods as the fifth most devastating weather event in Oregon in the 20th century. California Governor Pat Brown was quoted as saying that floods with similar proportions can "occur only once in 1,000 years," and are often referred to as the Thousand Year Flood. Floods killed 19 people, severely damaged or completely destroyed at least 10 cities, destroyed all or part of more than 20 highway bridges and large districts, carrying millions of wooden footboards and logs from the factory site, destroying thousands of hectares of farmland. land, killing 4,000 head of cattle, and causing damage to $ 100 million in Humboldt County, California alone.
Video Christmas flood of 1964
Histori
The atypical cold spell began in Oregon on December 13, 1964, which froze the ground, and was followed by unusually heavy snow. Furthermore, the Pineapple Express storm brought continuous, heavy, and warm rain. Temperature increases from 30 to 40 Â ° F (17 to 22 Â ° C). It melts the snow, but leaves the soil frozen and watertight. Some places receive rain equivalent to one year in just a few days. Albany received 13 inches (330 mm) of rain in December, almost twice the average December 7 inch (200 mm) rainfall. Detroit recorded an additional 18 inches (460 mm) of rain, and at Crater Lake, where the average normal rainfall in December is 12 inches (300 mm), there is more than 38 inches (970 mm) of rain. When rivers and streams overflow and soil becomes saturated, landslides occur, roads are closed, and reservoirs overflow. Many cities are isolated. At the end of the flood, every river in Oregon is above the flood surface, and more than 30 large bridges can not be skipped.
End of January
Heavy rains and melting snow caused more flooding in late January 1965, after water began to recede from the December flood. More mudslides occur in places that have survived the December floods, and there are more deaths. Many rivers in the northern San Joaquin Valley reach a higher current than in December.
Maps Christmas flood of 1964
Effects and aftermath
Oregon
The Christmas flood of 1964 was "the worst rain storm ever to occur in central Oregon, and was among the most severe in western Oregon since the late 1870s", according to the National Weather Service in Portland.
Some of the worst mudslides occurred in Mount Hood Corridor, and one person was killed in mud and avalanche near Rhododendron that destroyed 15 homes. Other deaths came from drowning and electric shock, and one person died when the new John Day bridge collapsed.
Yamhill County is severely affected. The bridge between Newberg and St.. Paul and the road between Newberg and Wilsonville were closed, trapping hundreds of people.
On the Oregon Coast, the center of Reedsport is flooded with 8 feet (2.4 m) water, and in Coos Bay, a big trap contributes to the great flood. The harbors at Gold Beach and Brookings were destroyed.
In Oregon City, Willamette Falls can not be recognized as a waterfall, and the city is flooded with several meters of water. In Portland, the lower deck of the Baja Bridge is under water and has also been hit by a wooden raft of about 1,000 logs. The impact of the raft damaged the Hawthorne Bridge, closing it for a year. At a height of 12 feet (3.7 m) above the flooded surface, the Willamette River flood in Portland in 1964 was second only to the 1948 flood that wiped out Vanport City. At its peak, the water is at the top of downtown Portland.
California
Beginning on December 21st, heavy rains throughout Northern California caused many floodwaters, many of which broke records. Governor of California Brown declared 34 counties in the disaster area. Together, Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Siskiyou, Trinity, and Sonoma districts suffered damage to more than 28 other countries combined. Twenty-six US Geological Surge Guides (USGS) were destroyed.
North Coast
The Eel, Smith, Klamath, Trinity, Salmon and Mad Rivers, as well as other rivers and major rivers, all pass through the flood stage and peak almost simultaneously around December 21 and 22, breaking the previous record (especially those set in "hundred of years" floods of 1955 in many cases). Sixteen state highway bridges were destroyed in California's 1st congress district, mostly on Highway 101, and 10 other county bridges destroyed in Humboldt County. Floods destroyed lanes and many rivers and river crossings on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, the only major railway in the region, and related spur lines.
Many communities in Del Norte and Humboldt County experience massive power outages and are left isolated (or completely cut off from other states for a period), including the larger population areas around Humboldt Bay, such as Eureka and Arcata, despite the fact that those cities are located on the higher plains and not on the raging river path. Poor river communities such as Klamath, Orleans, Myers Flat, Weott, South Fork, Shively, Pepperwood, Stafford, and Ti-Bar were completely destroyed by flood waters; some of them were never rebuilt and no one regained their previous status. Metropolitan, Rio Dell, and Scotia suffered significant damage. Crescent City, still recovering from the tsunami created by the 1964 Alaska earthquake just nine months earlier, also suffered flooding.
More than 22 inches (550 mm) of rain falls in the Eel River valley within a span of two days. On December 23, 752,000 cubic feet per second (21,300 m3/s/s) water rushed down the Eel River in Scotia (still upstream from the Van Duzen River meeting), 200,000 cubic feet per second (5,660 m) > 3 /s) more than the 1955 flood, and more than average discharge from the entire Mississippi River valley. Only under 200,000 cubic feet per second (5.660 m 3 /s) water flows beneath the Eel Fork River alone, causing severe damage along its length. Each single flow meter in the Eel River was destroyed. The height of the Miranda flood is 46 feet (14 m). The signs are then placed on high pillars to mark the unusual height of the water.
The Smith River, located in Del Norte County near the Oregon border, reached a flow of 228,000 cubic feet per second (6,460 m 3 /s) at Hiouchi, easily surpassing the previous record of 1955 floods of 165,000 cubic feet seconds (4,670 m 3 /s). The city of Gasquet received 26.6 inches (676 mm) of rain over an eight-day period, and Crescent City received 9.2 inches (230 mm).
The Klamath River reaches 557,000 cubic feet per second (15,800 m 3 /s), immersing the Klamath city under 15 feet (4.6 m) of water.
The Trinity River, one of the largest tributaries in Klamath, also floods and destroys along its path. The Trinity, however, did not break the record of floods in 1955 because the newly built Dam Trinity, which housed 372,200 feet (459.1 million m 3 ) runs from the storm. Nevertheless, 231,000 cubic feet per second is impressive (6,540 mw of soup) of water flowing into the river at Hoopa.
Between December 20 and December 26, a surprising 10,390,000 acre feet (12.82 km/h) 3 ) flowed into the Pacific Ocean from a combination of rivers and rivers in the North Coast.
Central Valley and beyond
In the Central Valley, the Yosemite Valley was flooded, and the inhabitants of Yuba City were evacuated. Many rivers reach flood stage, including Feather River, Yuba River, American River, Cottonwood Creek, and Butte Creek. The flood caused the Unfinished Hole Dam on the Rubicon River to fail, sending more water downstream. In total, 375,000 hectares (152,000 ha) of the Central Valley are flooded.
Elsewhere
In southwestern Washington, the rising river threatens Centralia and Longview-Kelso and closes Interstate 5 and all trains in Kalama that flood for over a week. In Nevada, the Truckee River threatens Reno.
See also
- The Great Flood of 1862
- Willamette Valley Flood 1996
References
External links
- The flood history of Christmas week from Salem Public Library
- The '64 floods story of Mail Tribune
- The 1964 flood image of the Salem Public Library
- Picture 1964 flood in Corvallis from the University of Oregon Digital Library's digital archive
- Picture of the 1964 Eel River Flood near the Van Arsdale Dam from the Potter Valley Irrigation District
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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