Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-13
SWEPT AWAY By FLOODS
Portland, Oregon, Greatly Damaged
By the Raging Rivers.
Buildings Washed Away and Every
thing at the Waters Mercy.
After a Rise of Over Twenty EIGHT
Feet the Water RecedeS.

PORTLAND, Ore, Feb. early this
morning another building from Powers
furniture factory was swept down the
current and lodged against the west end
piers Of the bridge. Other wreckage ac-
cumulated and the pressure beneath the
bridge renders the structure unsafe.
Driftwood in large quantities has collected
about the central pier, and the machinery
of the draw is completely blocked.
About o'clock this morning ware
house came floating down the river and
passed under both bridges. The roof had
been taken off and the piles of freight lay
exposed. The warehouse was about 800
feet long and is supposed to have come
from Oregon City.
PORTLAND, Feb. 6.-The water reached
its highest point, % feet and four inches,
at six o'clock this morning. Since then
it has fallen four inches in the channel
This is the highest water in the HISTORY of
the city The water falls slowly in the
streets and is not perceptibly lower, but is
running with less rapid current and is
free from heavy drift wood in the channel
The bridges are believed to be safe and
there is no evidence of any serious damage
to buildings, The only loss iii the bust
ness district will be from the presence of
water on the ground floors of the buildings
which will be trifing. Reports from
points on the Willamette river indicate
that the river is falling very rapidly.
Detailed reports of the damage above will
be slow to come in on account of the
interruption to Geographic communica-
ton. The most serious loss will be the
destruction of the bridges which seem to
have been swept away everywhere. The
largest towns in the valley are well above
high water, and only small and unimport-
ant buildings have been carried away.
The interruption to travel still continues
but the Oregon Railway & Navigation
company has established steamers for SER
vice to the Cascade locks above which
trains are running. Between the
Cascade locks here and there is a success
sion of land slides which have entirely
obliterating the track in some places. The
Southern Pacific sent out train on the
branch line west of there, but got no fur.
Their than McMinnville, fifty miles from
here. No trains have been sent out on the
main line The Northern Pacific running
to Tacoma is carrying mails. Meagre adj
vices from Ashland state that the Southern
Pacific railroad bridge across the Uupqua
river has been washed out, and in the
Grow Creek canyon the railroad track has
been virtually wiped out. Many small
railroad bridges between here and Ashland
are washed away and the company does
not attempt to send out trains
on the west side of the Willamette river,
the trains only running as far as McMill
vile. The Union Pacific is blockaded by
heavy slides between this city and Dalles,
and no trains are expected to be running
for several days The Northern Pacific is
still running At Salem sixty houses have
been swept away and many persons driven
from their homes, though, as far as known
no lives were lost. Along the river bot
toms considerable live stock has been
drowned and large quantities of grain and
hay destroyed.