OREGON CITY, Ore. — The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued flood watches and flood and wind advisories for parts of Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington. Rocks fell into the road, attributed to the weather, in Oregon City, closing part of OR99-E for a short time. It has since reopened.
KGW meteorologist Rod Hill reported that the coast and parts of the Oregon Coast Range could see as much as five inches of rain through Tuesday and 60-mph wind gusts from the south Monday afternoon.
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There will be less wind and rain inland, Hill said, though the Portland metro area is still expected to see 25-35 mph winds and upwards of an inch and a half of rain through Tuesday.
The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (ODGMI) said people in Northwest Oregon, including along the Oregon coast, should be alert for landslides or debris flows. "Heavy rain may result in landslides in areas of steep terrain, as well as debris flows in and near burned areas from recent wildfires," ODGMI said in a news release.
On Monday afternoon, Canby Area Transit tweeted that a large rock slide at the OR-99E tunnel in Oregon City forced Canby Transit to re-route all buses through Oregon City and impacted the Amtrak station at Railroad Avenue. After being fully closed for a short time, at around 4:30 p.m. the road was reported completely open in both directions.
ODGMI gave the following advice for people whose homes, work or commuter route is in a flood watch area:
- Stay alert: Track the flood watch by radio, TV, weather radio or online. If told to evacuate, do so immediately.
- Listen: Unusual sounds might indicate moving debris, such as trees cracking or boulders knocking together. A trickle of falling mud or debris may precede larger landslides. If you think there is danger of a landslide, leave immediately.
- Watch the water: If water in a stream or creek suddenly turns muddy or the amount of water flowing suddenly decreases or increases, this is a warning that the flow has been affected upstream. You should immediately leave the area because a debris flow may soon be coming downstream.
- Travel with extreme caution: Assume roads are not safe. Be alert when driving, especially at night. Embankments along roadsides may fail, sending rock and debris onto the road.
Despite all the rain the Willamette River Big Pipe is holding strong and has not overflowed sewage into the river. It reached 100% capacity but by 2:45 p.m. it had receded slightly without overflowing. You can keep an eye on the Big Pipe's levels by watching the tracker.
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