County administrator praises staff after December floods; shelters and water rescues reported

The County Administrator recognized county staff for their response to a December rain-and-wind event that caused significant flooding in Clackamas County, saying multiple departments worked together to protect residents and property.

The administrator said the county distributed urgent public messaging, set evacuation levels and posted evacuation notices on buildings, and updated the county website, including an evacuation map, so the public could see what was happening and when. The county partnered with the American Red Cross to set up a public shelter and established a separate shelter for livestock.

County crews cleared landslides and fallen trees from roadways. The administrator said sheriff’s deputies knocked on doors to inform residents about the threat and posted evacuation notices on buildings. The county coordinated with Clackamas Fire to carry out water rescues; the administrator reported "there were several water rescues for people who are trapped in their vehicles due to flooding."

The administrator listed participating departments, saying disaster management led the effort and naming the sheriff’s office, Transportation and Development, Health, Housing and Human Services, Water Environment Services, Technology Services, CECOM 911, Facilities, Finance, County Counsel, County Administration, and Public and Government Affairs. The administrator said "a couple hundred employees" temporarily left their regular duties to staff the emergency operations center.

The administrator thanked staff for their work during what was described as a state of emergency and closed the update with appreciation for the county’s response.

The transcript did not provide exact counts for rescues or the precise number of staff reassigned; those figures were described in general terms by the administrator.