Aberdeen/Hoquiam flood map (houses, crawl space, neighborhoods)

[max.b]

Is this how Aberdeen/Hoquiam was flooded this year? Was the flooded area greater or smaller than what this map calls "floodplain" (light blue)?

(From https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/coastala.../FloodMap.aspx )

[max.b]

Also, I noticed that many houses in the area have a stoop that goes to the second floor.

Is this to protect the house in case of floods? Wouldn't it be easier to have a front door that's watertight?

[CrazyDonkey]

https://video-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hv...10&oe=561596EB

It effected a wide area, based on the above video, but not the extent shown on the floodplain map, I believe.

[Dendrite]

The blue floodplain area on the map you posted is area at risk, i.e. the area that can flood but most years the blue area on that map is not completely flooded. The old time residents talk of "100 year floods" where the entire blue portions of your map does flood. I think those "100 year floods" actually occur about every 10 or 20 years instead!

Anyway if you're interested in Aberdeen, the solution would be to live on higher ground. Aberdeen has several hillside neighborhoods that are outside of the floodplain.

BTW, the usual problem there is water in a basement or crawl space. A waterproof door wouldn't help with that as it leaks through the floor or foundation.

[CrazyDonkey]

I lived in Aberdeen as a kid in the mid-50s to early-60s, and while we'd have standing water in low areas after a hard rain, we never had any significant flooding like they had recently. I did hear about and see pictures of a big flood in the 1920s. Our house was up on a stoop in the flats (2nd St) - our basement flooded frequently from fall to spring.

For higher ground, look at the Pilgrim Heights and Bel-Aire areas, up by Sam Benn Memorial (originally Franklin) Park.

[max.b]

So, 2nd floor stoop... Is that to keep the first floor dry even when it's partially submerged?

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by max.b

So, 2nd floor stoop... Is that to keep the first floor dry even when it's partially submerged?

No, first floor stoop, daylight basement. Would have had to be three or four feet of water to flood anything more than the basement, which flooded frequently. That was true of pretty much every house on that street (W 2nd Street).

For second floor stoops, see Sacramento.