Northwest Oregon pummeled by rain; forecast: more storms

Heavy rains turned streets in the Portland area into creeks on Monday, interrupting bus and light rail service and forcing the evacuation of at least one neighborhood.

“It’s really important that folks minimize their contact with this water”, a BEC spokeswoman said at a press conference. “It’s water runoff from everything you could imagine like driveways and streets”.

Portland’s combined sewer system has also been badly affected. Along Northwest 13th and Quimby Street in Portland, cars were abandoned in rising water. Crews were also pumping water from an elementary school in Gresham. The college remained closed on Tuesday.

Sidewalks were closed as well as a section of the road washed out.

Residents in the Portland area and throughout northwest OR and southwest Washington were pummeled by a second barrage of heavy rains on Tuesday, as rain continued to soak already saturated ground, inching area creeks and rivers closer to flood stage.

In Gresham, a sinkhole near Mount Hood Community College took out two lanes on Southeast Kane Road. There was also a sewage overflow on the Columbia Slough.

The Oregon Department of Transportation says a sinkhole opened up on Highway 22 in Yamhill County, southwest of Portland.

Residents were evacuated from a neighborhood in Clackamas County, and the American Red Cross was opening a shelter there.

And several school districts in northwest OR are sending students home earlier and cancel afternoon and evening activities.

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries is also warning people to look out for landslides. It’s in effect through Wednesday afternoon, but rain likely won’t stop until the week’s end, forecasters said. Residents whose property is at risk for flooding should use sandbags.

Monday’s flooding caused the closure of numerous roads in Portland, and heavy rains triggered landslides. More than 3.3 inches of rain fell in the 24-hour span that ended Monday at 2 p.m. Parts of the Coast Range got even more.

KOIN 6 Meteorologist Kristen Van Dyke says Portland broke the all-time record Monday for daily rainfall. The city recorded 76mm of rain on Monday, breaking the previous record set on November 19, 1996.

Heavy rain caused landslides that necessitated traffic detours on NW Cornell road and Skyline Blvd.in Portland Ore., Monday, Dec. 7, 2015.

Rivera urged anyone who sees blocked roads or unsafe conditions to call the PBOT tip line at 503-823-1700.

“Alerts for wind, flooding and mudslides will be common through the days of Wednesday and Thursday”, Hill added.

Rainfall and flooding is expected to last in the northwestern portion of the USA until Thursday according to the Weather Channel.

And the wet weather had only just begun: storms are expected to continue through Thursday, producing several more inches of rain across the region, the Weather Channel reported.