Ryan Humphrey was chatting Sunday with his neighbors in front of his driveway, which led down to an open garage, with faint green lines two feet high marking where the flood water had stopped.

The water from the 30-inch main that burst March 17 flooded his basement, Humphrey said, and he was just starting to assess the scope of the damage.

The multi-million gallon flood was the talk of the Northeast Portland neighborhood Sunday as people stood behind yellow tape and watched the Portland Water Bureau work, and neighbors described to each other in vivid detail the size of the previous day’s geyser.

The break occurred around 11:30 a.m. Saturday near Northeast Skidmore Street and 23rd Avenue and flowed north at least four city blocks to Alberta Street and east for at least another five blocks near 27th Avenue. Authorities closed streets between Northeast 21st Avenue and 30th Avenues, evacuated residents in 12 homes and cut power to as many as 14,155 Pacific Power customers in the area as a precaution.

Humphrey said he was driving home that morning with his son and daughter after their swimming lessons when he saw water coming down Skidmore. He parked on the street and ran with his kids to the house.

The water was pouring down his driveway and into a drain in front of the garage door, which was closed, Humphrey said. He tried to block the water with a bag of rocks.

“It was not effective,” Humphrey said.

The water kept flowing, he said, rising about two feet. It broke the garage door and rushed in, flooding the entire basement.

Now, Humphrey is busy with the aftermath. The first order of business is to remove anything that could mold, including drywall and carpet, he said. Overall, he expects the damage to cost about $10,000 to $15,000. The basement was carpeted and had a couch, television, washing machine and dryer. A chest full of family heirlooms was also caught in the flooding.

Most homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover flooding, and it’s uncommon for homeowners outside areas prone to flood to carry additional flood insurance. Humphrey said his insurer has already turned down his claim.

Humphrey said he is waiting to hear if the city of Portland will pay for the damage.

“They basically turned a non-flood area into a flood area,” Humphrey said.

He said he has yet to hear back from the city’s Risk Management division, which handles liability claims. The Oregonian/OregonLive couldn’t reach the division Sunday.

Humphrey was also disappointed that nobody from the Portland Water Bureau came offered to help with the aftermath. About half a dozen neighbors helped Humphrey and his wife clear the basement of water after the bulk had receded, he said, and he hasn’t heard a word from the city agency.

In an email, a spokeswoman for the Portland Water Bureau said the department has been focused on preventing further damage to the neighborhood.

“We understand that this water main break has caused unexpected stress and difficulty for many people who live in Northeast Portland,” spokeswoman Jaymee Cuti said.

It’s unclear what caused the rupture, but Cuti said it was likely a combination of old age and pressure due to freezing and thawing of the ground this winter.

The flooding appeared to hit Humphrey’s home particularly hard. Others in the neighborhood described narrowly missing disaster.

A city official asked Margaret Kennedy to evacuate Saturday as the water flowed past her home of 54 years on Skidmore Street. Kennedy stayed at her son’s house in Wilsonville, not knowing if the water reached into her home. Her basement had flooded once before, she said.

When she came back Sunday morning, Kennedy found that the house had been spared. Still, there was work to do. The water had poured over her yard and flowerbeds, leaving rocks, small branches, and roots as it receded. She spent much of Sunday morning and afternoon cleaning up the mess.

“This is harder to clean off than volcanic ash,” Kennedy said, recalling the aftermath of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com

desk: 503-294-7674|cell: 971-373-2905|@fedorzarkhin

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