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Residents in Row River flood plain forced to evacuate following heavy rain and flooding


Folks living on the Row River Floodplain have been told to leave their homes immediately. (SBG)
Folks living on the Row River Floodplain have been told to leave their homes immediately. (SBG)
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COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. - The heavy downpour has sparked a Level 3 Evacuation in parts of Cottage Grove.

Folks living on the Row River flood plain have been told to leave their homes immediately. | FLOOD PLAIN MAP

The Red Cross is helping evacuees as a spring storm with heavy rain, mixed with melting snow has put much of western Oregon under a flood watch.

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Water managers expect levels in the Willamette Valley to be at flood stage through the middle of the week. And some evacuations are already underway in the area.

Torrential rain over the weekend caused significant flooding in the Row River area, sparking to officials to tell residence to evacuate immediately.

"Two firemen came in and said come on, come on, let's go, let's go,” said Caryl Zandt, an evacuee. “I said ‘I've got to get my medication,’ and they're saying come on let's go do you want us to carry you out I said no."

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Zandt lives at Riverstone Mobile Home park. By the time she walked out, she says the water was up to her knees.

“I've never seen it cross the street, flood the yards like it has this time,” she said. “I mean there are a couple of streets in Riverstone that are impassable.”

Zandt and other area evacuees were taken to the Cottage Grove Community Center. The Red Cross opened a shelter there on Sunday to help those affected by the flooding.

“Our shelters will make sure that people have a warm place to stay, a place to lay down food and warmth,” said Donda King, with the American Red Cross.

Kings says the shelter received around 40 people.

“Our goal is to get some update on the situation and continue to stay open until we're no longer needed,” said King.

Despite the hardship, Zandt hasn't lost her sense of humor.

"I think mother nature should slow down a little bit with the rain, I know we need it,” said

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