Pictured above: 1996 debris dam at Big Eddy Marina. Photo credit: The Flood Safety District.
Thirty years ago, the February 1996 flood devastated communities across Oregon and Washington. Learn more about the lessons we learned then and how this event continues to guide our work and projects today.
1996 Flood Overview
Early in the 1995-1996 wet season, the region experienced heavy snowfall, ice, and warmer temperatures. The situation was compounded when, in early February 1996, the Pacific Northwest experienced heavy rain. The melting snow and heavy rain – Portland International Airport recorded about seven inches of rain over a four-day period – resulted in floods that devastated communities across Oregon and Washington.
Though many remember the massive volunteer effort to reinforce that downtown seawall, the District experienced their own flood fight.
Pictured below: The Willamette River reached 33.6 feet (NAVD88) in height and crested the downtown Portland seawall (33.8 ft. NAVD88). Photo credit: The Flood Safety District.
The Columbia River
The Columbia River crested at 32.5 feet (NAVD88), just feet from the top of the levee crest. The Districts’ systems performed well, despite some damage. Erosion and seepage (water coming through or underneath the levee) were the main concerns, and required 24-hour operations for 10 days. This is the last large event the Districts experienced, and it spurred Multnomah County Drainage District taking over management for all four Districts, when they functioned separately.
A side-by-side comparison
In 1996, one of our pump stations was underwater. Here’s the same pump station in 2026; if the water was as high this winter, it would reach the truck in the right photo.
Lessons Learned
Partnerships were key in 1996. The District worked with levee patrollers from the Portland Water Bureau, the Port of Portland, and nearby golf courses. Transportation bureaus helped with traffic control. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers provided and coordinated federal resources that our local and state governments did not have access to, and the US Coast Guard helped us with inspecting the levees from the water, at times.
It was a group effort, and we continue to work with all of these partners to ensure the District is ready for another emergency.
For example, every year, we conduct a flood wall exercise on Marine Drive with the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
The flood wall would be installed in the event the Columbia River level was forecasted to rise past moderate flood stage (23 feet at the Vancouver Gage Datum). At that point, Marine Drive would be closed to traffic and we would be coordinating with our regional partners to keep the floodplain behind the levees safe.
Future Improvements
In 2024, voters approved a bond measure that will support our work to maintain and improve the levees. The Portland Metro Levee System project will upgrade the Portland region’s flood management system to better protect the floodplain.
The PMLS project includes 19 improvements that will:
- Make levees stronger and more reliable through improvements to approximately 30% of the District’s 27-mile system.
- Increase the level of protection for the western part of the flood management system to reduce failure and to prevent overtopping and levee breaches.
- Build a new levee and floodwall where the ad-hoc level railroad embankment failed in 1948, destroying the City of Vanport, as well as address levee performance in two other failure points from that year.
- Fill in low spots where overtopping poses a risk.
- Replace or upgrade outdated pump stations which move water from behind the levees out of the system and prevent internal flooding.
- Improve access to backup power for critical pump stations.
Learn more about the 1996 Flood
Read our 2016 story map that commemorated the flood’s 20-year anniversary. Many things have changed since then – we consolidated our four districts and updated some of our infrastructure – but our mission to be flood prepared remains the same.
Watch recent coverage on the 1996 Flood from KOIN 6. Go to 33:01 to learn more about the District’s role in flood safety during this emergency.