Oregon Public Broadcasting

Emergency officials are asking residents of the Willamette Valley to keep a close eye on rising water, and not delay evacuations. Flooding in Marion, Benton, and Linn Counties has closed some schools, and displaced about two dozen people in the town of Scio.

Scio Fire Chief Duane Miller says the flood pattern threw a curve to emergency responders.

Miller explained, "In the previous flood in 1996, the bridge slowed some of the water down and caused some of the water to flow down in the main part of the city. This year, because the bridge is raised up higher and arched, it didn't slow the water down as much. it flooded out into the south portion of the city first, and turned around and came through the north part of the city."

But he says today's rains were so heavy, floodwaters came back through the main corridor of town after all.

Miller is asking people to respect roadblocks. Emergency crews have had some problems with drivers going around or through barriers, against police orders. He also encourages people to stay out of floodwaters. They can hide dangers like downed power lines or contaminants.