Sisters Underwater

By Ilya (grade 7)

Whychus Creek Flooding

photo by Sue Stafford from http://www.nuggetnews.com/

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Sisters, Oregon is faced with a dangerous situation, flooding. Residents are wondering what will happen when Whychus floods. What causes flooding, some people may ask. The answer is when lots of water goes into a river and causes that river to go over its banks. In sisters this spring, the snow melting and the rain will pour into the Whychus possibly causing it to flood.

Sisters residents are meeting and figuring out ways to survive the possible flood. One person was writing down phone numbers so they could call people in the event of a flood and make sure they are O.K. Some residents looked at a map of the flood plane and said it was very helpful to know if they were safe, there were also computers open to sites about flooding. A fun fact is that in 1996 there was a flood that wiped out Highway 20.   

There are some things people can do to prevent lots of damage due to a flood. One obvious thing is move away from the flood zone, but there are many more. People could create barriers and mark houses as shelters. People could try draining water from the Whychus. One way that would work well is remove snow, but the water of the flood could come from the peaks of the mountain. The flooding in Sisters is a scary thing to think about and is possible, but if we take extra precautions we will be fine.

For more information, check out this video from our local tv station, ktvz.com.