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Clackamas County issues flood warning as heavy rain, high winds arrive; EOC open
Summary
The county's disaster director warned of heavy rain, high winds and river rises — Clackamas at Estacada is forecast to reach “major” stage — and said the emergency operations center is open, Red Cross sheltering is likely and multi-channel alerts will be sent to residents.
Daniel Neibauer, Clackamas County’s director of disaster management, gave commissioners a brief storm briefing on Dec. 18, warning that heavy rain and high winds could raise rivers and creeks and produce localized flooding and fallen trees.
"We only have one gauge that's forecasted to go to what they call major, and that's Clackamas at Estacada," Neibauer told the board, noting several other gauges were expected to reach moderate stage. He identified Johnson Creek (gauge in Multnomah County), the Clackamas River in Oregon City, the Willamette below the falls, Molalla at Camby, and the Pudding River as waterways of concern.
Why it matters: county officials said the most likely impacts are localized flooding of residential and commercial areas along those waterways, downed trees and power outages from high winds, and potential evacuation recommendations for at-risk neighborhoods.
Neibauer said the county’s emergency operations center (EOC) is open and that the National Weather Service and county alerting systems will issue messages. The county plans to run two rounds of alerts — an initial NWS/EAS message followed by county reminders a few hours later — and to post flood and evacuation maps on the county website. He said the American Red Cross was likely to open a shelter as a precaution and that volunteer organizations and amateur radio operators were activated to support communications and recovery efforts.
In response to commissioners’ questions, Neibauer described how the county defines action/minor/moderate/major stages on river-gauge pages and explained that the county’s flood SOP (standard operating procedure) triggers specific actions at defined stages, including pre-positioning deputies in areas like Estacada and coordinating with cities such as Happy Valley for local messaging. For residents who lose power and rely on medical equipment, Neibauer recommended calling the county non-emergency line so the EOC can attempt to identify resources.
The EOC will continue monitoring river gauges throughout the night and into Friday and Saturday as the storm rises quickly and then falls, officials said. County staff asked residents to avoid high-risk areas, monitor official alerts and be prepared for temporary evacuations if conditions worsen.
