Eric Stanton climbed into the cab of his semitruck at 11 p.m. Monday as steady rain fell near his Tillamook home. At the time, the water level of the nearby Wilson River flowed 5 feet below the dike near his house. When he returned from work around 10 a.m. Tuesday, water was trickling over from the river.
By 3 p.m., his house was surrounded.
“I went from having a few of my porch steps visible to almost knee-deep water,” Stanton said, watching the rushing river carry trees past his window.
Stanton’s house sits on a raised foundation. For now, the water has breached only the garage. However, meteorologists with the National Weather Service expect continued rainfall through Wednesday evening, further impacting the coast and the Portland area, where swollen creeks are believed to have killed two. On Tuesday, Amtrak halted passenger trains between Portland and Seattle due to a landslide.
Back on the coast, Stanton is cautiously waiting it out. “I’m getting kind of concerned about it, but right now I’m just sitting back and watching my geese swim in the river in my backyard,” Stanton said.
So far, 3 to 4 inches of rain have fallen in the coastal region near Tillamook, and Portland has recorded 1 to 1.5 inches since Monday. The National Weather Service forecasts another 1 to 2 inches of rain along the coast, and as much as 4 inches in higher terrains in the coast range in the next 24 hours, according to meteorologist Noah Alviz.
The Portland metro area can expect another inch of rain through Wednesday evening, said meteorologist Daniel Hartsock.
Already, one person was swept away and presumed drowned in Southeast Portland’s Johnson Creek Monday, and another man was found dead in a creek in Washington County on Tuesday.
Rain from back-to-back atmospheric rivers has battered sections of the Oregon coast, forcing closures on sections of U.S. 101, from Seaside to the junction with U.S. 26. Several flood advisories are in effect across large portions of southwest Washington and northwest Oregon through Thursday.
Many Tillamook and Seaside businesses shuttered Tuesday, as did the Seaside, Tillamook and Neah-Kah-Nie school districts. Late Tuesday, the Tillamook and Neah-Kah-Nie districts said they would close again Wednesday.
Toni Perez, a hotel manager at Shilo Inns Tillamook, said the flooding came on quickly when she arrived for work Tuesday.
“It came over the banks within minutes,” Perez said. “I sent all my employees home, and I’m just watching the phone for people who want to check in to get out of the water.”
Some RV park residents in the area have been calling the hotel throughout the day in case they have to evacuate, Perez said. No evacuations have been reported as of Tuesday afternoon.
Perez said there was a similar flood in Tillamook and along U.S. 101 last year, but that the water hasn’t reached the halls of Shilo Inns since 1996. She’s hoping the inside of the hotel remains dry for her 21 guests.
“I do not want to be a one girl bucket brigade,” Perez said.
– Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744
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