PENDLETON â When the Umatilla River floods hit Pendleton in 2020, hundreds of residents were rendered temporarily homeless.
The Oregon Legislature eventually stepped in to provide millions of dollars worth of rapid rehousing money to organizations like the Community Action Program of East Central Oregon to help displaced residents find a new place to live.
But the nonprofit struggled to find homes for the flood survivors in Pendletonâs existing housing market, according to CAPECO Chief Executive Officer Paula Hall. There were few housing options on the market, and even available homes were often unaffordable for the displaced residents, many of whom came from Riverview Mobile Home Estates. Kate Gonsalves, a senior communications coordinator with Oregon Housing & Community Services, said the rapid rehousing money was soon repurposed for a different Pendleton housing project.
PENDLETON â Back-to-back-to-back storms blanketed the region in more than a foot of snow, but local meteorologists donât expect the aftermath to create the kind of conditions that led to the Umatilla County floods last February.
Rob Brooks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Serviceâs Pendleton office, said three successive systems, starting on Thursday, Feb. 11, and running through the morning of Feb. 15, combined to pelt the region with massive snowfall amounts.
According to the weather service, the Pendleton area saw 16.4 inches of snowfall over the four-day period, good for the fourth highest total over four days in recorded history. The Pendleton area did set a record with three consecutive days of four inches of snow or more.