Pacific County flood waters receding after area hit hard

Operations in Pacific County are beginning to return to normal after this week’s flooding, with roads beginning to open up and flood waters receding.

Pacific County Emergency Management Deputy Director Scott McDougall said mudslides and rain in the county affected homes and families, with State Route 4 still closed on Tuesday afternoon due to the weather. McDougall said a considerable portion of South Bend flooded over Sunday night and Monday morning.

Pacific County Sheriff Pat Matlock said fixing a large on State Route 4 will make for a lengthy repair process and didn’t know when the road would be restored. A culvert underneath the highway failed, forcing both lanes to sink into the ground.

One lane of U.S. Highway 101 was opened on Tuesday afternoon after a mudslide closed the roadway all day Monday.

Up to eight inches of rain was reported in Naselle, while gymnasiums in the South Bend elementary and high school both saw roughly four inches of standing water on Monday, said McDougall.

South Bend Police Chief Dave Eastham was told, unofficially, that the area received over six inches of rain, with Central street on the west side of town taking the brunt of the flooding. South Bend schools were cancelled on Monday and began two hours late on Tuesday. Eastham believes all schools will be back in session on Wednesday.

Both Matlock and Eastham said on Tuesday afternoon that with the exception of State Route 4’s closure, things were slowly returning to normal.

“Our problem areas where there were copious amounts of water have receded,” said Matlock. “There’s still a little bit of standing water, but it’s getting back to normal. With the good weather today, it’s really helped.”

In Raymond, Public Works Supervisor Tom Arnold estimated the city got about eight to ten inches of rain. He said that a creek in the Riverdale area flooded roadways when a five-foot culvert couldn’t handle the water. Public works crews were on call from 11:30 at night on Sunday until 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon helping families with water in their basements and making sure catch basins were working.

“All in all, we fared pretty well. If it would’ve continued on Monday I think we would’ve been hurting down here,” said Arnold.