A Level 3 Evacuation Notice has been issued for residents living in the Row River and Coast Fork 100-year floodplains.
Faye Stewart is the city’s Public Works and Development Director. He says the flow coming into Dorena Reservoir is higher than the water being discharged. And the water levels of Row River will peak at 11pm tonight.
"They’re a little unclear as to how high it will reach, but they’re concerned that it may actually go over the top of the reservoir," Stewart tells KLCC. "That puts the homes below the reservoir in jeopardy. So last night, they evacuated homes or asked people to leave that are below the reservoir. There’s probably still potential flooding through this evening.”
Stewart says up to 200 locals could be affected by flooding. The shelter had 25 people Sunday night.
“The wild card or the concern that the Corps of Engineers has right now, is that there’s a lot of snow up in the mountains with a lot of water content in it," he adds.
"So depending on if the storm stalls a little bit or if it’s a little warmer than expected, they may receive some additional water from the snow melt that could change the predictions a little bit.”
The Red Cross has set up a shelter for residents at the Cottage Grove Community Center. Stewart adds there’s a sandbag fill site at North 12th Street near the Dairy Mart, for anyone needing to protect their property against rising waters.
Copyright 2019, KLCC.
