Oregon Territory
September 16, 2005 — Vanport Flood of 1948
part oneIn 1948, the Columbia River punched a hole in a levee and flooded the city of Vanport, just north of Portland. The flood destroyed the town, killing 18 people, and wiped out what was the largest public housing project in the nation.
The flood left 18,000 people homeless.
There are many similarities between the Vanport flood and Hurricane Katrina's effect on New Orleans. This week, we explore those similarities, and take a look at the decision not to rebuild Vanport, Oregon.
Host: Christy George
Guest: Ed Washington, former Metro councilor, survivor of the Vanport flood in 1948; and Michael McGregor, associate professor of English & non-fiction writing at PSU and author of several essays on race and Vanport.
Additional Resources
- Ed Washington Remembers Vanport (Center for Columbia River History)
- Ed Washington Oral History
- Construction of Vanport (Oregon Historical Society)
- "The Vanport Flood and Racial Change in Portland" by Mark McGregor
- History of Vanport
- The Flood (Center for Columbia River History)
- Photos of the Vanport Flood
- "A Racist Legacy Taints this State" (Portland Tribune)
- Wartime Portland (Oregon Historical Society)
- Flood Control, Bonneville Power Administration
- Hurricane Katrina: Key Resources & Environmental Coverage (Society of Environmental Journalists)
- "Fatal Flood" -- PBS film on 1927 Mississippi River floods
- "Vanport" book by Manly Maben
- "Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and how it changed America" book by John M. Barry
- "Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938" book by R.A. Scotti
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