Delores Skovgaard sorting through personal items after residents were allowed back into Vanport, Oregon following the Vanport flood. The caption on the photograph reads, “My sister Dee helping.”

A view of damaged apartment buildings in Vanport, Oregon after the water receded from the Vanport flood. The caption on the photograph reads, “Slough in background. No more bridge from Victory Avenue across Bayou Slough to Island Avenue.”

Unidentified people climbing over piles of debris left behind after the flood waters retreated during the Vanport flood. Several apartment buildings lifted from their foundations by the flood waters are visible in the wreckage.

A view of damaged apartment buildings in Vanport, Oregon after the water receded from the Vanport flood. The caption on the photograph reads, “Our apartment house.”

A group of men holding hands and a rope to form a human chain in waist-high flood water during the Vanport flood. They are attempting to rescue people trapped by rising flood water. Flooded cars and debris are visible in the water around them. Dale Skovgaard is identified as the man in the white cowboy hat. This photograph was originally taken by an Oregonian photographer (OrHi 25428).

Agnes Skovgaard sorting through personal items after residents were allowed back into Vanport, Oregon following the Vanport flood. Caption on the image reads, “My mother sorting through personal items after the flood to see if anything was worth saving. Very little.”

Buildings and flotsam pressed against the Kenton Slough dike during the Vanport flood in 1948.

A line of cars parked on Denver Avenue in Vanport, Oregon. The drivers abandoned their cars on the road and fled on foot after a traffic jam blocked their exits. Pedestrians are visible on the road attempting to escape the rising flood waters during the Vanport flood.

Agnes and Delores Skovgaard standing behind a picket fence in front of their apartment in Vanport, Oregon. They are sorting through personal items after residents were allowed back into Vanport following the Vanport flood. The caption on the photograph reads, “My Mother, Netta and Sister, Delores, trying to sort out any savable items from apartment.”