The Vanport Flood was not the first, nor would it be the last, Columbia River flood. The river gauge at Vancouver read 28.3 feet the day the public housing project flooded. The 1894 “flood of record” reached 36 feet at Vancouver, Washington, and other large floods took place in 1862, 1876, and 1880. Together, the Army Corps of Engineers and local drainage districts constructed 61 flood control projects in the early twentieth century, from the mouth of the Sandy River to the sea. The Vanport Flood occurred after the largest population increase in the region, with comprehensive development of the Columbia River already underway. Despite the uncontrollable nature of the Columbia, the Vanport flood provided further justification for dam building on the river.
Regular flooding is still a fact of life in Columbia River communities. The 1964-65 Christmas floods reached 30 feet at Vancouver, and in 1996, warm rains on snow, a “pineapple express,” brought the river level to approximately 29 feet. The Multnomah Drainage District scrambled to prevent property damage in slough communities. Four months of high water, poor communication, and lack of emergency planning during 1996 renewed public agency flood preparation in the Portland area.
President Harry Truman talking about comprehensive river development in the Columbia Basin, May 1948, at the Portland Civic Auditorium. Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society Broadcast Media Archives.
