USA – Atmospheric River Storms Create $1 Billion-a-Year Flood Damage. By the end of the flood, almost every river in Oregon had flooded and more than 30 major bridges were impassable. Shannon Archuleta, left, and her son Jett Archuleta wade through a flooded street in the Riverstone Mobile Home Park in Cottage Grove, Ore., Monday, April 8, 2019, to check on a family member after floodwaters rose overnight. Creeks throughout Salem saw flooding, as more than 9 inches of ran fell in five days. An unusually wet period occurred over the State of Oregon during the April 6 to 21, 2019 time period when an atmospheric river event transported a tremendous amount of moisture from the Pacific Ocean across Oregon. For many basins in Oregon, the flood peaks during this winter event remain the record. The Willamette River is expected to rise to flood stage in Albany by Tuesday, cresting at 27.39 feet while downstream in Salem, the river is projected to come just short of flood … 5 December, 2019. Atmospheric rivers pose a $1 billion-a-year flood risk in the West, according to a new study. Major flooding was widespread. The flod claimed 17 people in Oregon and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The heavy rainfall combined with snowmelt runoff set the stage for an extended period of flooding from the Willamette Valley to Eastern Oregon. Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego and… Read Full Article. PORTLAND, Ore. – Emergency officials have issued level 3 evacuations along two stretches of rivers in Western Oregon rivers as heavy rains and snow melt pushed water levels into flood stage. Flooding has closed roads and led to evacuations… Read Full Article. The Willamette River at Salem crested at 29.42 on Jan. 21, 2012.