The River Overflows Its Banks
A winter deluge causes catastrophic damage to Kennewick’s infrastructure, livestock, and irrigation systems.
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Floodwaters have caused extensive destruction across local farmlands. The main road to Hanford across the Grosscup ranch is severely damaged, and many cattle and horses have drowned after becoming entangled in submerged barbed-wire fences. H. O. Adkins risked his life to save several head of cattle by swimming them over the fence lines, but losses remain high, particularly at the Rosencrans ranch. The Northern Pacific and Horn Rapids irrigation systems have also suffered significant damage; the river broke through canal banks and breached concrete levees, causing damage estimated at several thousand dollars. Furthermore, the destruction of the Richland bridge has effectively severed the community's primary connection to Kennewick, leaving the town accessible only by boat or circuitous routes via Pasco.
“It was at the risk of his own life and those of his men, that H. O. Adkins saved several head of cattle which were swum to safety over the top of a barbed wire fence.”
The 1918 flood highlights the vulnerability of early Yakima Valley agriculture to the untamed river. Modern engineering and the Columbia Basin Project have largely mitigated such sudden disasters, yet the history of these flooded flats remains a reminder of the fragility of rural infrastructure.
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