Residents on the Oregon coast were hard at work, cleaning up after more than 60-mile-an-hour winds and nearly eight-inches of rain hit Brookings and Gold Beach.
Mud, downed trees, and areas where the road just fell away…this was the scene on the coast.
All the debris, left behind by Tuesday’s powerful winds and heavy rain.
On Wednesday, people living in Curry County surveyed the damage.
“This is the office, got wiped out,” said Steve Geney who lives near the Chetco River.
He said the water from the rising river spilled into his living room and kitchen.
In certain areas he said there was three to four feet of water.
“It was just quick and there was nothing you could do,” said Brookings resident, Debbie Newsome.
“They took us out yesterday in a boat. Our basement was filled with water,” added Dolores Baker, also a Brookings resident.
Residents said the Chetco River began overflowing around five Tuesday morning.
Dolores Baker said the water engulfed and totaled her two cars.
“The water got up to the dash and everything. It’s been really rough,” she said.
The severe weather also caused large sinkholes to form, one of them closing Ransom Street in Brookings.
Further up the coast in Gold Beach, a house slid straight into a city park.
“I moved out about three weeks ago,” began Yochanan Israel.
“I think it was divine intervention,” he continued.
Officials said the preliminary damage estimation exceeded $800,000.
The extent of the distruction prompted Curry County Commissioners to declare a state of emergency.
Back in brookings, an area officials say, was the hardest hit, Steve Geney said on this Thanksgiving Eve, despite all the damage, he’s just thankful it wasn’t worse.
While commissioners voted to call a state of emergency, officials said Curry County won’t receive federal aid unless Governor Kitzhaber also declares it.
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