BROOKINGS, Ore.– Heavy rain is washing out roads, causing flooding and triggering landslides across the region. With more rain expected, locals are hoping for a lull before the next storm arrives as it’s already some the worst weather they’ve seen in a long time.
What normally is a welcome sight has brought hazardous conditions to people in Curry County.
“It feels like this winter has been a lot worse wind and rain wise,” said Noah Bruce, a local who has lived in Brookings for over 25 years.
All across the region, heavy rain has led to high levels of water and flood warnings. But the Brookings area was starting to see all that over the weekend.
“Some of the houses are about two feet under water and one guy has a big old storage trailer and that thing looks like the water floated it up a little bit and shoved it off on its side,” said Vincent Chiantelli, a local of Brookings.
The rain hasn’t let up leading to severe road conditions. According to the Curry County Emergency Services Facebook page, crews have been working to clear several roads like Winchuck Road and Hunter Creek Road due to landslides.
Meanwhile, several areas like Highway 101, where the Hooskanadan Slide occurred back in February, are constantly being monitored.
“We haven’t seen any movement on the hillside. We’ve seen a lot of drainage, water coming off the hill – that’s good,” said Dan Latham, a spokesperson for ODOT. “As far as we know the weather is supposed to ease up tonight and then throughout the rest of the week should be better for us.”
The majority of people still remained unaffected by the rainfall. But locals like Bruce and Chiantelli say this is the worst they’ve seen. Bruce said it was the worst he’s seen since he was building a portion of a hotel in Brookings during an El Nino.
“Pretty dangerous to frame in those kind of winds and stuff but the rain this year is much more intense than that year,” he said.
Still, lulls in the storm have helped to ease the flooding somewhat giving residents a chance to check their homes.
“I kind of feel for the people that live right on the river level cause they’re having to deal with flood damage right now,” said Chiantelli.
Some on the coast could say though – it might be time for summer.
“Like I said I think this is one of the worst,” said Bruce. “I’m really looking forward to this being the last month of rain.”
Several of the roads around Curry County like Winchuck Road will remain closed through the night while others like Gardner Ridge Road are being brought down to one lane – all due to landslides and flooding.
Residents are asked to take it slow and drive with caution for the next couple days.
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