 Aerial view of Vanport, Oregon, during the flood | |
| Date | May–June 1948 |
|---|---|
| Location | Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana in the United States and British Columbia, Canada[1] |
| Deaths | 16–102[2] |
| Property damage | $102.7 million ($1.2 billion in 2021)[1][3] |
The 1948 Columbia River flood (or Vanport Flood) was a regional flood that occurred in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. Large portions of the Columbia River watershed were impacted, including the Portland area, Eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, Idaho Panhandle, northwestern Montana, and southeastern British Columbia. A publication of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1949 stated property damage reached $102.7 million (1949 value), 250,000 acres of farmland were flooded, 20,000 acres of land were damaged or destroyed, and at least 16 died in the flood (the phrasing suggests these were deaths from the Vanport community); estimates for total deaths from the flood go as high as 102.[1] Among the damage was the complete destruction of Vanport, in the Portland metropolitan area, which was the second largest city in Oregon at the time.[4] The flood was largely caused by rapid melting of above-average snowpack by heavy precipitation and warm temperatures.[1] It remains the second largest flood recorded on the river.[2]
- ^ a b c d Paulsen, C. G.; Rantz, S. E.; Riggs, H. C. (1949). Floods of May-June 1948 in Columbia River Basin (PDF) (Report). United States Geological Survey. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Ott, Jennifer (August 30, 2013). "Vanport Flood begins on the Columba River on May 30, 1948". HistoryLink. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ "U.S. Inflation Calculator". Archived from the original on 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
- ^ Geiling, Natasha (February 18, 2015). "How Oregon's Second Largest City Vanished in a Day". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.