It demolished everything within its path. It shattered the homes of thousands, it destroyed the lives of many, and it ended the lives of few. It was known as the Vanport Flood. On Sunday, May 30th, 1948 the Columbia River poured through the city of Vanport without any warning to the residents who lived there. Stuart Mcelderry described within his article “Vanport Conspiracy and Social Relations in Portland, 1940-1950,” that a railroad embankment serving as a levy gave way. Within 45 minutes the entire city of 18,500 people was under several feet of water and gone for good. The city of Vanport was home to many white and African American families who then became homeless. As devastating of a tragedy this was, the flood of Vanport was a stepping stone for racism within Oregon and the Portland area.
Due to the fact Vanport was temporary housing built in just a couple months, it lacked foundation and sturdiness. The fragile apartments caused the majority of the buildings to be swept away in the wave of water that was 15 feet above the actual city. (Oregonian). The surprisingly low number of casualties, along with the multiple day wait for the river levels to go down so that the city could be thoroughly searched, allowed time for rumors to be created about the flood due to the extent of the natural disaster. It had many people wondering whether or not HAP lied about the actual number of deaths that occurred. Theories consisted of the government secretly loading the dead bodies on ships, to the bottom-floor apartments being “clogged with bodies,” or that a school bus had been seen with limbs of children trying to escape through the windows. (McElderry) The aftermath of the flood left the thousands without a home, food, or for some, no ma...
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The category 3 storm changed the lives of the residence who lived there forever. The storm in combination with the fault of the man-made flood protection walls (levee’s) resulted in the death of at least 1,300 people (1). With nearly half the victims over the age of 74, deaths were caused by; drowning, injury/ trauma and heart conditions (2). Hurricane Katrina was one of the most costliest storms to land on American soil, costing around US$135 billion in damages (3). Although the number of deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina are not as high as other natural disasters, Katrina displaced a massive amount of people from their homes, around 85% of the population were displaced directly after the storm hit (6). Being one of the most devastating natural disasters to hit the United States, Hurricane Katrina impacted not only the residence of New Orleans by also many of the surrounding
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