President Trump Approves Oregon Disaster Declaration in Response to April Flooding

While Portland saw little more than high-flowing, debris strewn rivers, other Oregon cities were not so lucky.

High water closed OR 34 near Corvallis, April 11, 2019. (ODOT/Flickr)
By Elise Herron

In April, Portland was inundated with unusually late-season flood warnings when rain from Northeast Oregon overwhelmed local watersheds.

And while Portland saw little more than high-flowing, debris strewn rivers, other Oregon cities were not so lucky.

Related: Swelling Willamette and Columbia Rivers Could Flood Parts of Portland This Weekend

To assist in flood repairs, President Donald Trump today approved a disaster declaration in Oregon. According to a White House press release, he "ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides from April 6 to April 21, 2019."

Officials from flooded Oregon cities petitioned Gov. Kate Brown to declare a disaster in April, which she did not immediately do.

Related: Heavy Rains Cause Landslides on Highways Across Oregon

In the Eastern Oregon cities of Umatilla and Pendleton, the Associated Press reported, water filled up basements, nursing homes were evacuated and costly footbridges were washed away.

Today's declaration makes federal funding available to state, tribal and local governments and some nonprofits helping to repair damaged facilities in Curry, Douglas, Grant, Linn, Umatilla and Wheeler counties.

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