On This Day in 1903: Heppner, Ore., Flooding Disaster | WeatherBug
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On This Day in 1903: Heppner, Ore., Flooding Disaster

June 13, 2021
By WeatherBug's Intern Meteorologist, Christopher Smith
On this day 118 years ago, Heppner, Ore., was struck by one of the state’s most devastating floods in recorded history.

Heppner, Ore., sits in north-central Oregon and is about a 3-hour drive east of Portland, Ore. Willow Creek, a usually tranquil waterway, runs through the town’s center. However, the creek was anything but tranquil on June 14, 1903.

A strong thunderstorm packing extremely heavy rain and hail moved across the town on that day, quickly prompting flash flooding. Willow Creek's water level rose rapidly with eyewitness reports comparing the creek to a 40-foot wall of water, which is as high as a three-story building. In a matter of minutes, one-third of the town was entirely swept away by the raging waters with all buildings in its path destroyed.

With little warning, many would not escape the flooding disaster. A total of 247 people drowned in floodwaters, making it the deadliest natural disaster in Oregon’s recorded history.

The flooding then would head downstream 20 miles to the town of Lone, Ore. While 150 homes were destroyed in Lone, Ore., extra lead time through telephone communication of the flooding in Heppner, Ore., helped prompt evacuations and save many lives.

To this day, the amount of rain that fell in Heppner, Ore., is unknown since the weather instrumentation was completely destroyed in the flooding.

Source: weather.gov
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Story Image: Willow Creek floods Heppner, Ore., on June 14, 1903 (Wikimedia Commons/National Weather Service).