First off, we’re fine in Portland. A little flooding in the Johnson Creek and outer SE, but nothing like the 1996 floods that put much of “lower” Oregon City underwater, and nearly brought floodwater into downtown Portland.

Vernonia, about 45 minutes from Portland, was not so lucky.

One excellent resource for news about the flooding in Oregon has been the Oregonian Breaking News blog. They’ve done a great job posting road closures and information about the effects of flooding as it is happening. One good summary post is Coast Recovering as Flood Moves Inland.

Another great resource has been the Oregon Public Broadcasting Traffic Map. This is always useful, but during both the snow/ice warnings and the flood and storm that followed, it was quickly updated.

I’ve asked Hands On Portland about a project in one of the areas near Portland later on this month. If I hear anything back, I’ll post here.

The pictures of the flooding were pretty awful. The schools in Vernonia don’t look like they’ll be usable for the rest of the year. Vernonia residents were caught off guard because all the flood warnings had focused on the coast.

The I-5 freeway between Portland and Seattle is impassible right now. An incredible amount of truck traffic flows up and down I-5 year-round. Reports I’ve read say that traffic through I-90 and Yakima is terrible, and that I-5 will still be blocked through tomorrow.