FloodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
s in the United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
are generally caused by excessive rainfall, excessive snowmelt, and dam failure. Below is a list of
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
events that were of significant impact to the country, between 1901 and 2000.
Willow Creek, OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
Flash Flood - June 1903
The third deadliest flash flood in US history, the normally placid Willow Creek burst its banks during an intense rain and hail storm. The city of
HeppnerThe city of Heppner is the county seat of Morrow County, Oregon, United States. It was originally called Standsbury Flat for George W. Standsbury, one of the first white settlers in the area. It was later renamed to honor Henry Heppner, a Jewish pioneer who opened the first general store there in...
, at the foothills of the
Blue MountainsThe Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the western United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington...
in eastern Oregon, was almost completely destroyed. 220 of Heppner's 1,400 residents died in the flood.
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
Flood - March 1904
Flooding was more significant along the
GrandThe Grand River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It runs 260 miles through the cities of Eaton Rapids, Jackson, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven.-Description:...
,
SaginawThe Saginaw River is a 22-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee rivers southeast of Saginaw. It flows northward into the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron just northeast of Bay City.The river is an important shipping route for...
,
KalamazooThe Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is 166 miles long from the headwaters of the southern branch to Lake Michigan...
, and
River RaisinThe River Raisin is a river in southeastern Michigan, United States that flows through glacial sediments into Lake Erie. The area today is an agricultural and industrial center of Michigan...
river basins than the
St. JosephThe St. Joseph River is a tributary of the Maumee River, approximately 100 mi long, in southern Michigan, northwestern Ohio, and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming region in the watershed of Lake Erie. Along with the St...
and
Huron RiverThe Huron River is located in Southeast Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Indian Springs Metropark in northern Oakland County and flowing into Lake Erie on the boundary between Wayne County and Monroe County...
basins. In
LansingLansing is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan, and the state's sixth largest city. It is located about 80 miles west-northwest of Detroit and is mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County...
, it was the worst flood in the previous 135 years of its history. Many dams were either undermined or swept away.
KalamazooKalamazoo is the largest city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 76,145...
saw two square miles of flooding during this event.
It was also considered the most destructive flood in
Grand RapidsGrand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River and is approximately 30 miles from Lake Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 197,800, making it the 114th largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Kent County,...
history. The Grand River went above bankfull on the night of March 24, rising slowly for the next four days. It broke the previous high water mark by over 60 cm (2 ft), and was considered a once in 100 year flood. Over one-half of the population on the west side of the river was inundated. On the east bank of the river, numerous factories went underwater. There was one casualty. Damages totaled US$1.8 million (1904 dollars). To the left is an image showing the flooding in
Battle CreekBattle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
.
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
Flood - 1906
A storm in late 1906 reported highest ever rainfalls in a southeast to northwest direction from
MontereyThe City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Variants of the city's name are recorded as Monte Rey and Montery. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of 2005, the city population was 30,641...
to
IoneIone is a city in Amador County, California, United States. The population was 7,129 at the 2000 census...
in the Sierra Nevada foothills. An area of was flooded in the
Sacramento ValleyThe Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
.
Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the second largest city in the state. Its population was 334,563 at the 2000 census; by 2006, it was estimated to have fallen to 312,819. The population of the seven-county metropolitan area is...
Flood - March 1907
Snowmelt combined with heavy rains by March 16 allowed the
AlleghenyThe Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....
,
MonongahelaThe Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in North-Central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
, and
OhioThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. It is approximately 981 miles long and is located in the eastern United States....
rivers to swell out of their banks, leading to a flood of record in Pittsburgh. Damage to the city was estimated at US$5 million (1907 dollars). The death toll was low, with 6-12 perishing during the inundation.
Michigan Flood - March 1908
In February, snowstorms had deposited a significant snowpack across the region. Then, in early March, heavy rains and warmer conditions set in, setting the stage for a flood. The
Kalamazoo RiverThe Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is 166 miles long from the headwaters of the southern branch to Lake Michigan...
flooded
AlbionAlbion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,144 at the 2000 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area...
when the Homer Dam broke around 3 p.m. on March 7. By midnight, the bridges surrounding town were underwater. Six buildings in Albion collapsed, which caused over US$125,000 in damage (1908 dollars).
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
Flood - 1909
The storm extended from Fort Ross on the coast to the
Feather RiverThe Feather River is a principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in length, in Northern California in the United States. It drains part of the northern Sierra Nevada the extreme southern Cascades, and a small portion of the middle of the Sacramento Valley. The river has a rich history of gold...
basinA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
.
LaPorteLa Porte is a census-designated place in Plumas County, California, United States. The population was 43 at the 2000 census.-Geography:La Porte is located at ....
, in the Feather River basin, had 1,458 mm (57.41 in) of rain in 20 days, an event with a return period of 12,000 years.
The flood episodes of 1907 and 1909 in California resulted in an overhaul of planned statewide flood control designs.
Austin, PennsylvaniaAustin is a borough in Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 623 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Austin is located at ....
Dam Failure - September 1911
Heavy rains filling the Bayless reservoir cracked the concrete dam, sending waters gushing over Austin and through the surrounding valley. A total of 50 perished during the inundation.
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
Flood - March 1913
Nearly 254 mm (10 in) of rain during a series of three winter storms led to this flood event, which affected southwest, central, and eastern Ohio, especially cities and towns along the
Great Miami RiverThe Great Miami River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southwestern Ohio in the United States.The Great Miami flows through Dayton, Piqua, Troy, and Sidney....
and
Olentangy RiverThe Olentangy River is a tributary of the Scioto River in Ohio.It was originally called keenhongsheconsepung, a Delaware word literally translated as "stone for your knife stream" based on the shale found along its shores...
valleys, as well as Indianapolis, eastern Indiana, and western Pennsylvania. Fires and tornadoes also wrought destruction.
Dayton area
DaytonDayton is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 166,179 at the 2000 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 848,153 in the 2000 census. Dayton is the fourth largest...
was totally devastated, being inundated for three days in late March. The floods also put the
Ohio and Erie CanalThe Ohio Canal or Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed in the early 1800s, which connected Akron, Summit County with the Cuyahoga River near the Cuyahoga's mouth on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Scioto County, and then...
out of business for good, destroying most of the locks and many miles of embankments. The death toll from this flood was 361 with total damages of US$100 million.
Columbus area
On the Olentangy River, this flood broke the previous record for river stage by over 4.5 m (15 ft). In the town of
Delaware, OhioThe City of Delaware is in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Delaware County. The municipality is located near the center of the state of Ohio, about 20 miles north of Columbus, Ohio. Delaware was founded in 1808, incorporated in 1816. It is part of the Columbus Metropolitan Area....
, 50-75 perished when a break in the levee allowed a seven foot-tall (2.13 m) wall of water to sweep through downtown. Five of the town's bridges washed away.
The state capital,
ColumbusColumbus is the capital and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is the county seat of Franklin County, although parts of the city also extend into Delaware and Fairfield counties...
, suffered its worst ever flooding from the Olentangy and
SciotoThe Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length . It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
rivers. The
FranklintonFranklinton is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Lucas Sullivant, a Virginia born land surveyor, established Franklinton in 1797. It is bordered by the Scioto River on the east and north, Greenlawn Avenue on the south, and I-70 on the west...
area on the west side was inundated after a levee broke on March 25th. Four thousand houses were damaged or destroyed, between 90 and 100 lives were lost, and three of four bridges spanning the Scioto River downtown were destroyed (only the Rich Street bridge survived - Town, State and Broad street bridges were destroyed). The owner of
The Columbus DispatchThe Columbus Dispatch is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio that serves the central portion of the state. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871 and has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since The Columbus Citizen-Journal stopped printing in 1985.The C-J , as it was...
,
Robert F. WolfeAccording to biographies supplied by the Columbus Foundation and the Columbus Dispatch, newspaper founder Robert F. Wolfe arrived in Columbus, Ohio, in 1888 and found work as a shoemaker, eventually beginning the Wolfe Brothers Shoe Company. In 1903, he bought the Ohio State Journal with his...
, chartered interurban trains to Buckeye Lake some 48 km (30 mi) east of Columbus to retrieve boats to rescue survivors. Flooding also occurred along
Alum CreekAlum Creek is 58 mile long creek that runs north to south in central Ohio . The creek originates in Morrow County and then flows through Delaware County and finally into Franklin County, where it ends at Big Walnut Creek. It is a tributary of Big Walnut Creek, which drains into the Scioto River...
on the city's east side.
Southern Ohio
In
ChillicotheChillicothe is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Ross County. The municipality is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River...
, Olentangy River flooding carved out a 2-3 m (6-10 ft) deep channel on Hickory Street. 18 lost their lives in the town.
The Ohio river reached a level of 21 m (70 ft) near
HigginsportHigginsport is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 291 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Higginsport is located at ....
.
Southeast Floods - July 1916
On July 5-6, 1916, a tropical cyclone swept across the Mississippi Coast, which caused torrential rains across it and adjacent states; rains from this storm affected Southern states as far north as North Carolina and Tennessee.
Another tropical storm passed over Charleston, South Carolina, during the morning of July 14, 1916, and passed to the northwest. It hit the Carolinas hard, especially western North Carolina (July 15) and north-western South Carolina.
All previous records for 24-hour rainfalls were exceeded, and rivers and streams throughout the area rose past all previously recorded levels. The resulting flooding was disastrous, and approximately 80 people were killed and property damage was estimated at 25 million dollars.
Ohio RiverThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. It is approximately 981 miles long and is located in the eastern United States....
Flood - February 1918
Ice jams due to a quick thaw led to this flood. The river stage at Cincinnati climbed to near 19 m (62 ft) during the event. Ice blocks in the river destroyed
steamboatA steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels....
s on the river, ending the era of steamboat commerce on the Ohio river.
Thrall Flood - September 1921
This storm caused the most deadly floods in Texas, with a total of 215 fatalities. On September 9th and 10th, 1921, the remnants of a hurricane moved over Williamson County. The center of the storm became stationary over
ThrallThrall is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 710 at the 2000 census, and 847 in the 2005 census estimate. The name Thrall was chosen for the community to honor the Rev. Homer S...
, dropping a storm total of 39.7 inches of rain in 36 hours.
The 24-hour rainfall total ending 7 AM on September 10th, 1921 (38.2 inches) at a U.S. Weather Bureau station in Thrall remains the national official 24-hr rainfall record.
Eighty-seven people drowned in and near
TaylorTaylor is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,575 at the 2000 census; it was 15,014 in the 2005 census estimate. The T...
, and 93 in
Williamson CountyWilliamson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. In 2000, the population was 249,967 and by the 2007 Census estimated it had grown to 373,363, a 49.4% increase . Its county seat is Georgetown...
. Thrall rainfall was 23.4 inches during 6 hours, 31.8 in. during 12 hours, and 36.4 in. during 18 hours.
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States.-Events:The flood began when heavy rains pounded the central basin of the Mississippi in the summer of 1926. By September, the Mississippi's tributaries in Kansas and Iowa were swollen to...
From the summer of 1926 into the spring of 1927, heavy rains much greater than normal saturated the ground throughout eastern
KansasKansas is a state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa tribe, who inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind," although this was...
,
OklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,617,316 residents in 2007 and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and the Ohio Valley. The
WhiteThe White River is a 722 mile long river that flows through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Missouri.-Course:The source of the White River is in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest southeast of Fayetteville...
and
Little RedThe Little Red River is a river in north-central Arkansas. During the American Civil War the Battle of Whitney's Lane took place near Searcy on the banks of the Little Red....
rivers broke through the levees in
ArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the...
in February, flooding over 400 km² (100,000 acres) with 3 to 5 m (10 to 15 ft) of water. The first levee break along the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
occurred a few miles south of
Elaine, ArkansasElaine is a city in Phillips County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 865 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elaine is located at ....
on March 29.
Over the next six weeks, numerous levees broke along the Mississippi River from
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
to
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, which inundated numerous towns in the Mississippi Valley. The break at Mounds Landing near
Greenville, MississippiGreenville is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 41,633 at the 2000 census, but according to the 2007 census bureau estimates, has since declined to 35,764, making it the eighth largest city in the state...
was the single greatest crevasse to ever occur along the Mississippi River. It single-handedly flooded an area 80 km (60 mi) wide and 160 km (100 mi) long with up to 6 meters (20 ft) of water. Heavy spring rains caused a second major flood in the same region that June. In all, 73,500 km² (28,500 sq mi) which were home to more than 931,000 people were inundated. The flood finally subsided in August. The massive Red Cross relief effort was directed by then Secretary of Commerce
Herbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted government intervention under the rubric "economic...
, which later catapulted him into the presidency and made the
New DealThe New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to his complex package of economic programs 1933-36 with the goals of what historians call the 3 Rs, of giving Relief to the unemployed and badly hurt farmers, Reform of business and financial practices, and promoting...
a reality within the next decade.
In order to avoid flooding the city of New Orleans, the governor of
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
allowed engineers to create the Poydras cut, which saved the city but led to the flooding of
St. BernardSt. Bernard Parish is a parish located southeast of New Orleans in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Chalmette, the largest city in the parish. As of 2000, its population was 67,229. It has been ranked the fastest-growing county in the United States from 2007 to 2008 by the U.S....
and
PlaqueminesPlaquemines Parish is the parish with the most combined land and water area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Pointe à la Hache...
parishes instead. Millions of acres across seven states were flooded. Evacuees totaled 500,000. Economic losses were estimated at US$1 billion (1927 dollars), which was equivalent to almost one-third of the federal budget at that time. Months after the event, perhaps as foreshadowing to the
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
disaster of 2005, congressmen were still looking for federal aid to help recover from the flood.
New England Flood - November 1927
A late-season tropical cyclone moved through the region on November 3 and November 4, dropping substantial rains across central
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
.
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
was where most of the death and damage was seen during this flood; local rainfall totals reached upwards to near 375 mm (15 in). In
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
, the
PemigewassetThe Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is , in length and drains approximately .-Geography:...
,
BakerThe Baker River, or Asquamchumauke, is a long river in the White Mountains region of New Hampshire, the United States. It rises on the south side of Mount Moosilauke and runs south and east to empty into the Pemigewasset River in Plymouth. The river traverses the towns of Warren, Wentworth, and...
,
AmmonoosucThe Ammonoosuc River is a river, 55 mi long, in northwestern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound. "Ammonoosuc" is Abnaki for "small, narrow fishing place"....
,
MerrimackThe Merrimack River is a -long river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
and
ConnecticutThe Connecticut River is the largest river in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, through western Massachusetts and central Connecticut into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It has a...
rivers went into flood. Along the
Androscoggin RiverThe Androscoggin River is a river in the US states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is 178 miles long and joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before its water empties into the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean...
in
MaineThe State of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is the northernmost portion of...
, floods destroyed the covered bridge in
BethelBethel is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,411 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of West Bethel and South Bethel...
. A steel bridge replaced the old bridge to accommodate truck traffic across the river. Life was also disrupted in Rumford from this
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
. Damages from the flood totaled US$40 million (1927 dollars). Eighty-five people lost their lives in the flood, including Vermont's Lt. Gov. Samuel Hollister Jackson.
Northeast Flood - Spring 1936
Rain concurrent with snowmelt set the stage for this
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
. It affected the entire state of
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
. In
MaineThe State of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is the northernmost portion of...
, a major flood washed out railroad tracks along the
Androscoggin RiverThe Androscoggin River is a river in the US states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is 178 miles long and joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before its water empties into the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean...
east of
BethelBethel is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,411 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of West Bethel and South Bethel...
and the industrial section of Rumford.
JayJay is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,985 at the 2000 census. Jay, which includes the village of Chisholm, is the regional commercial center.-History:...
saw its mills and factories along the river damaged. The
East TurnerTurner is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,972 at the 2000 census. Turner includes the villages of Turner Center and North Turner...
bridge was again destroyed. The iron bridge between
Lisbon FallsLisbon Falls is a census-designated place in the town of Lisbon, located in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population of Lisbon Falls was 4,420 at the 2000 census...
and
DurhamDurham is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,381 at the 2000 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan New England City and Town Area...
washed away. Along the
Kennebec RiverThe Kennebec River is a river in the state of Maine in the northeastern United States. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward where it is joined, at the The Forks by the Dead River, also called the West...
, the Ticonic bridge was washed downstream at
Waterville, MaineWaterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,605 at the 2000 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the commercial, medical and cultural center of the region.-History:The area now known as...
. In all, damage totaled US$113 million (1936 dollars), and 24 people were killed. Damage was significant along the C&O Canal during the greatest of all
Potomac RiverThe Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately 383 statute miles long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles . In terms of area, this makes the Potomac River the fourth largest river along the...
floods. The flood carried off many of the bridges along the Potomac from
Harpers FerryHarpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. In many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry" with an apostrophe....
to
HancockHancock is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,725 at the 2000 census. The Western Maryland community is notable for being located at the narrowest part of the state that is only 2 miles wide.-Geography:...
.
This flood prompted the federal government to assume responsibility for flood control throughout the country.
OhioThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. It is approximately 981 miles long and is located in the eastern United States....
/Great Miami RiverThe Great Miami River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southwestern Ohio in the United States.The Great Miami flows through Dayton, Piqua, Troy, and Sidney....
Flood - January 1937
A significant flood struck the region. At Cincinnati, the flood peaked twice within three months, first on January 14. The river stage nearly reached 21 m (70 ft). Cincinnati experienced a double disaster as 10 or more gas tanks exploded on "Black Sunday", January 24, which led to oil fires on the Ohio and in Mill Creek Valley. Two days later, the Ohio River crested in Cincinnati at a record 24.381 m (79.99 ft). Flooding in the city lasted 19 days. In
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
, one-third of
KentonKenton County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States. It was formed in 1840. In 2008, the population was 157,692. It is the third most populous county in Kentucky behind Jefferson County and Fayette County. Its county seats are Covington and Independence . It is the...
and
CampbellCampbell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed on December 17, 1794, from sections of Scott, Harrison and Mason counties. As of 2000, the population was 88,616. Its county seat is Alexandria...
counties were submerged. The cities of
LouisvilleLouisville is Kentucky's largest city and county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's estimated population as of 2008 was 713,877 , with a population of 1,244,696 in the Louisville...
,
OwensboroOwensboro is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky and the county seat of Daviess County. It is located on U.S. Route 60 about 32 miles southeast of Evansville, Indiana and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 55,512 at...
,
PaducahPaducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River. The population was 26,307 at the 2000 census...
, and others were disastrously inundated. In
IndianaIndiana is a U.S. state, the 19
th admitted to the Union. It is located in the Great Lakes region, and with approximately 6.3 million residents, is ranked 16
th in population and 17
th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38
th in land area, and is the...
,
AuroraAurora is a city in Lawrenceburg and Center townships, Dearborn County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,965 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Aurora is located at ....
was inundated. In Ohio,
HigginsportHigginsport is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 291 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Higginsport is located at ....
was almost completely submerged during the flood, along with
ColumbusColumbus is the capital and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is the county seat of Franklin County, although parts of the city also extend into Delaware and Fairfield counties...
,
DaytonDayton is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 166,179 at the 2000 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 848,153 in the 2000 census. Dayton is the fourth largest...
,
HamiltonHamilton is a city in Butler County, southwestern Ohio, United States. The population was 60,690 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. The city is near the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati and Dayton....
, and
MiddletownMiddletown is an All-America City located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Formerly in Lemon, Turtlecreek, and Franklin townships, Middletown was incorporated by the Ohio General Assembly on February 11, 1833, and became a city in 1886...
. Damages totaled US$20 million (1937 dollars).
Santa AnaSanta Ana is the county seat and most populous city in Orange County, California, and the 53rd-most populous city in the United States with a 2007 estimated population of 339,555...
, CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
Flood - February 1937
The storm of February 4-7, 1937 resulted in the highest four day rainfall totals at several stations in the
Santa Ana RiverThe Santa Ana River begins in San Bernardino County, California, in the San Bernardino National Forest. Its highest source lakes are Dollar Lake and Dry Lake , both on the northern flank of San Gorgonio Mountain in the San Gorgonio Wilderness...
basinA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
. The
RiversideRiverside may be:*a place-name applied to a locality, especially a city, that is situated beside a riveror*a moniker of anything that becomes associated with such a locality, such as an event, school, or organization....
north station had over 200 mm (8 in) of rain in that four days, which equaled a 450-year event.
Northeast CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
Flood - December 1937
The storm of December 1937 was a high elevation event in the Northeast corner of the state.
Los Angeles Flood of 1938The Los Angeles Flood of 1938 or 1938 Los Angeles flood was a major flooding event that was responsible for inundating much of Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties, California, during early 1938...
Two significant cyclones moved through the region; one between February 27 and March 1 and the second between March 1 and March 03. Over 254 mm (10 in) of rain had fallen during the five day period. Massive debris flows moved out from the
San Gabriel MountainsThe San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the Mojave Desert. This Transverse Range lies in and is surrounded by the Angeles National...
into the
Los Angeles BasinThe Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the peninsular and transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs...
. Although
Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County is a county in California and is by far the most populous county in the United States. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2008 population of 9,862,049 residents, while the California State government's population bureau lists a January 1, 2009, estimate of...
experienced damage,
RiversideRiverside County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of California, stretching from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the border with Arizona...
and
OrangeOrange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,846,293, though a July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759, making it the second most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and...
counties bore the brunt of the flooding. A total of 5601 homes were destroyed, and an additional 1500 homes were left uninhabitable. The three transcontinental railroads connecting
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
to the outside world experienced washed out bridges and flooded lines, isolating the city. Mail service after the flood was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard. The death toll was 115. It was the region's worst flood since New Year's Day of 1934. The result of this flood was the Flood Control Act of 1941, which authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a series of concrete sewers.
OklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,617,316 residents in 2007 and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
/ArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the...
FloodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
- 1945
Floods of record occurred on the
SulphurThe Sulphur River is a river in northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas in the United States.-Geography:The Sulphur River begins in eastern Delta County, Texas, at the confluence of its north and south forks...
,
SabineThe Sabine River is a river, 555 miles long, in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. In its lower course, it forms part of the boundary between the two states and empties into Sabine Lake, an estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. The river formed part of the United States-Mexican international...
,
RedThis page is about the tributary of the Mississippi River; for the tributary of Lake Winnipeg, see the Red River of the North.
The Red River, or sometimes The Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers located in the United States of America. The...
,
OuachitaThe Ouachita River is a 605-mile-long river that runs south and east through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana, joining the Red River just before the Red enters the Mississippi River.-Course:...
, and
LittleThe Little River is a tributary of the Ouachita River, about 90 mi long, in central Louisiana in the United States. Via the Ouachita and Red rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River...
rivers during this event. It helped spur reservoir construction on these rivers in the 1950s and 1960s.
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
FloodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
- April 1947
Snow fell the previous month across
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. A pair of frontal zones brought heavy rains to the lower peninsula of Michigan during the first several days of the month. Rainfall amounts of 126 mm (5 in) were measured at
JacksonJackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 36,316...
with a larger area of 75 mm (3 in) falling between
Benton HarborBenton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan southwest from Kalamazoo. The population was 11,182 at the 2000 census. It is the lesser populated of the two principal cities included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
. The heavy rain melting the existent snowpack increased runoff, and frozen ground across the region did not help matters. Flooding was witnessed from April 4 to April 11 and it was considered the worst flood since 1904 for the region. The
KalamazooThe Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is 166 miles long from the headwaters of the southern branch to Lake Michigan...
,
GrandThe Grand River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It runs 260 miles through the cities of Eaton Rapids, Jackson, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven.-Description:...
,
SaginawThe Saginaw River is a 22-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee rivers southeast of Saginaw. It flows northward into the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron just northeast of Bay City.The river is an important shipping route for...
,
St. ClairThe St. Clair River is a river in central North America which drains Lake Huron into Lake St Clair, forming part of the International Boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan...
,
ClintonThe Clinton River is a stream in the southeast of the U.S. state of Michigan.The Latitude and Longitude of a point near the mouth is 42°35'24.76"N 82°49'17.07"W...
, and
River RougeThe River Rouge, also known as the Rouge River, is a river in the Metro Detroit area of southeastern Michigan. It flows into the Detroit River at Zug Island, which is the boundary between the cities of River Rouge and Detroit. Traditionally, the river has been heavily polluted. However, it has...
river basins were impacted by this inundation, which was generally considered a once in 50 year event. Damage totaled US$4 million (1947 dollars).
Great Flood of 1951In mid-July 1951, heavy rains led to a great rise of water in the Kansas River and other surrounding areas. Flooding resulted in the Kansas, Neosho, Marais Des Cygnes, and Verdigris river basins. The damage in June and July 1951 exceeded $935 million dollars in an area covering eastern Kansas and...
in KansasKansas is a state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa tribe, who inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind," although this was...
This event was the worst in Kansas since June 1903. Small rivers and creeks were running at bankful over eastern Kansas when rainfall up to 254 mm (10 in) in 12 hours the last few days of June and the first few days of July caused rivers in Kansas to flood. After a break in the rainfall on July 4, heavy rains returned on July 5. At
Manhattan, KansasManhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It lies primarily in Riley County, of which it is the county seat, but also extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the July 2007 census estimate, its...
, at the intersection of the
Big Blue RiverThe Big Blue River is the largest tributary of the Kansas River. The river flows for approximately 250 miles from central Nebraska into Kansas, where it intersects with the Kansas River east of Manhattan, Kansas...
and
Kansas RiverThe Kansas River is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwestern-most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwestern-most portion of the extensive Mississippi River drainage. Its name come from the Kanza people who once inhabited the area...
, flooding inundated 70 city blocks with water up to the second floor of stores along Main Street. The high waters moved downstream to
TopekaTopeka is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. The population was 122,377 at the 2000 census, and it was estimated...
, forcing 20,000 persons to evacuate, then on to
LawrenceLawrence is the 6th largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Area which encompasses all of Douglas County...
, causing their worst flood up to that time. The industrial districts which border the Kansas River in
Kansas CityKansas City is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of the "Unified Government" which also includes the...
were protected by a 10 m (35 ft) dike which was equipped with floodgates at each tributary and topped by an 2.4 m (8 ft) wall, which was designed to manage a flood 1.5 m (5 ft) higher than the June 1903
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
. The onset of floodwaters reached Kansas City, Kansas on July 12, and the Kansas River rose rapidly, reaching its peak stage on July 14. Water rose 15 cm (6 in) an hour until within a meter (3 ft) of the top of the dike. The piers of bridges were battered by debris and whole farmhouses which had been swept downstream. Weak areas of the levee were reinforced with the help of hundreds of workers sandbagging. Shortly before midnight July 13, the Kansas River broke the levee protecting the Argentine district, and residents were forced to flee to nearby bluffs. Early that morning, after the Armourdale district had been evacuated, a 6 km (4 mi) long wave of water began to cascade over the levee and inundated the district with 4.5 to 9 m (15 to 30 ft) of water. Many people were rescued by boats, out of trees, ledges and rooftops. Later that morning, the Central Industrial District was flooded even while Mayor Roe Bartle of
Kansas CityKansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. It is one of two county seats of Jackson County, the other being Independence, just to the city's east...
,
MissouriMissouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
was on an aerial inspection of the flood scene.
The livestock industry was paralyzed as packing plants were flooded and thousands of hogs and cattle were swept away. Floodwaters made a canal out of Southwest Boulevard. A 23,000-liter (6,000-gallon) oil tank, caught in the current, struck a high tension wire and exploded, causing additional mayhem. The burning oil ignited the Phillips Petroleum Company oil tanks, which went up with a roar that rocked downtown Kansas City. Soon, eight city blocks were aflame as dozens of oil tanks exploded in a chain reaction that lasted five days. The Hannibal Bridge and A.S.B. Bridge were the only two highway bridges still operating. Several barges were torn loose and caught in the current about a kilometer (0.5 mi) upstream from the Hannibal Bridge. These barges threatened to destroy the remaining bridges but, fortunately, two of the barges arrived at the Hannibal Bridge at the same time and wedged against the bridge. The barges were quickly secured to the bridge with chains.
The
Missouri RiverThe Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, and is the longest river in the United States of America. The Missouri likely originates at Brower's Spring at the upper reaches of the Jefferson, before joining the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers in Montana....
and the
Kansas RiverThe Kansas River is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwestern-most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwestern-most portion of the extensive Mississippi River drainage. Its name come from the Kanza people who once inhabited the area...
threatened to spill into the Municipal (now Downtown) Airport, the Fairfax District, and
North Kansas CityNorth Kansas City is a city in Clay County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,714 as of the 2000 census but a large business/industrial base swells the daytime population by thousands more. Originally a northern suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, it is the north side of Kansas City,...
that Friday night. Planes were evacuated, and North Kansas City residents were ordered to leave immediately. Thousands of men, with the help of trucks and bulldozers, worked through the night to support the dike, but the collapse of the Jersey dike early July 15 was the last straw as water began to pour into the Fairfax District. In anticipation of such a break, a second levee had been started in order to protect the Quindaro Utility Plant in the northwest corner of the district. The plant supplied water and electricity to more than 130,000 customers in Kansas City, Kansas. Shutting down the plant would have been disastrous as water hitting the 1100 °C (2000 °F) boilers would lead to a devastating explosion. Workers virtually removed a nearby clay hill in their efforts to build up and support the dike. By 4 AM Saturday, the dike was within 30 cm (1 ft) of being topped as the flood had crested. By Monday, waters were receding as fast as they had come up.
The flood caused more than one billion dollars (1951 dollars) and claimed 41 lives in the Midwest. In Kansas City only three persons drowned, but property damage was $870 million dollars. Of the five industrial districts only North Kansas City was completely saved. The airport and the Quindaro plants were also spared from the worst.
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
Flood - 1955
The storm affected the Central Sierra and South Bay areas. The
Eel RiverThe Eel River is a major river system of the northern Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rugged area in the California Coast Ranges between the Sacramento Valley and the ocean...
on the
North CoastThe North Coast is a region of the U.S. state of California commonly including Marin County, Sonoma County, Mendocino County, Humboldt County, and Del Norte County....
saw the greatest flow of record to that time while Central Valley rivers saw near record flows. A statewide disaster was declared, though the storm resulted in 74 deaths and $200 million in economic losses. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall was recorded on December 20th, when 389 mm (15.84 in) fell in Shasta County.
New England Floods - 1955
Flooding of the
Connecticut RiverThe Connecticut River is the largest river in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, through western Massachusetts and central Connecticut into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It has a...
and
Westfield RiverThe Westfield River in Massachusetts flows through Westfield and empties into the Connecticut River at West Springfield, Massachusetts. It has a 497 sq. mi. drainage area consisting of several tributaries. These include the North Branch, the Middle Branch and the West Branch. The Swift River joins...
in August 1955 killed at least 87 people. The flood produced $8 million dollars in damages, or over $100 million by today's standards.
Michigan Flood - April/May 1960
Widespread heavy rains fell across the upper peninsula of
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
in two time periods; April 24 to April 26 and May 7 until May 12. The two rain events led to 75-150 mm (3-6 in) of rain falling across northern Michigan over this three week period. Residual snowpack in forested areas added to its effects. It was considered a once in 25-50 year event for much of the area, although many of the records set during this event stand today. Damage totaled US$575,000 (1960 dollars).
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
Flood - April 1960
This
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
struck the
MerrimackThe Merrimack River is a -long river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
and
PiscataquogThe Piscataquog River is a 34.7 mile long river located in southern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Merrimack River, which flows to the Gulf of Maine....
rivers. It was the third highest flood on record in these areas.
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
Flood - 1962
The
Columbus DayMany countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492 in the Julian calendar and October 21, 1492 in the modern Gregorian calendar, as an official holiday...
storm brought high winds and record breaking rains. Rains fell from Oakland to Alturas with record setting three-day rainfall for Lake Spaulding of 585.5 mm (23.05 in). One hundred seventy-four gage stations recorded their highest three day rainfall totals to that time. The storm caused $4 million in damages.
North Coast CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
Tsunami - March 1964
The
Good Friday EarthquakeThe 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaska Earthquake, began at 5:36 P.M. AST on Friday, March 27, 1964. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing buildings, and tsunamis directly caused about 131 deaths...
caused a
tsunamiA is a series of water waves that is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean. The original Japanese term literally translates as "harbor wave." Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded...
in March 1964, which completely devastated several
North CoastThe North Coast is a region of the U.S. state of California commonly including Marin County, Sonoma County, Mendocino County, Humboldt County, and Del Norte County....
towns which resulted in 14 deaths and an economic loss of $14 million in Del Norte County alone.
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
Flood - December 1964
The six days from December 19-24, 1964 were the wettest ever recorded at many stations on the
North CoastThe North Coast is a region of the U.S. state of California commonly including Marin County, Sonoma County, Mendocino County, Humboldt County, and Del Norte County....
. Every major stream in the North Coast produced new high values of extreme peak flows.
Thirty-four California counties were declared disaster areas.
December 1964 floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
in the Pacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America, bound by the Pacific Ocean to the west. There are several partially overlapping definitions of the region, but they generally include the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, and...
Significant snowfall preceded the event in early December. Around December 19, dramatically warmer conditions coupled with nearly a 300 mm (1 ft) of rain led to excessive snow melt in the western Cascades, which caused major flooding along the
Willamette RiverThe Willamette River is a tributary of the Columbia River. The name of the river derived from the French pronunciation of the name of a Clackamas Indian village. The river is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
. Downtown
SalemSalem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
was submerged under 3 meters (10 ft) of flood waters during the event. This flooding prompted flood control measures to be built along the Willamette River.
April 1965 floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
of the Upper Mississippi RiverThe Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of Cairo, Illinois, United States. From the headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, the river flows approximately 2000 kilometers to Cairo, where it is joined by the Ohio River to form the Lower Mississippi...
The 1965 flood caused over five million dollars of damage in
Clinton, IowaClinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,772 at the 2000 census. Along with DeWitt, Iowa - which is also located within Clinton County, the city was named in honor of the seventh governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton...
, alone.
July 4 1969 FloodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
in OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
The Independence Day flood of 1969 was one of the worst in
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
history, caused by 355 mm (14 in) of rain in 12 hours. This caused three large dams to fail, much property damage, and loss of life.
Wayne County, OhioWayne County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States, and is named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. As of 2000, the population was 111,564. Its county seat is Wooster.The Wooster Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Wayne County....
was one of the worst affected areas.
Hurricane CamilleHurricane Camille was the third and strongest tropical cyclone and second hurricane during the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season. The second of three catastrophic Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the United States during the 20th century, which it did near the mouth of the Mississippi River...
Flood in VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
1969
On the night of August 19 into August 20, the remains of Camille stalled due to high pressure in central Virginia. Within eight hours, at least 710 mm (28 in) of rain fell. This resulted in one of the worst natural disasters for
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
in its 400 years of history. Debris flows and severe flooding claimed 150 lives, mainly from
Nelson CountyNelson County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 14,445. Its county seat is Lovingston. It is also home to Wintergreen Resort, a local ski area; Swannanoa a "summer home" for James H. Dooley of Richmond, VA and is the location of...
.
Southeast OklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,617,316 residents in 2007 and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
Flood - December 1971
Rainfall up to 406 mm (16 in) fell across the
Little RiverThe Little River is a tributary of the Canadian River, 90 mi long, in central Oklahoma in the United States. Via the Canadian and Arkansas Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River....
basin. The
Glover RiverThe Glover River is a tributary of the Little River, 30 mi long, in the Ouachita Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. Via the Little and Red Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River....
rose high enough to deposit area cattle in trees. The Little River flooded tens of thousands of acres. This flood occurred after major reservoirs were built on these basins.
Rapid City, South Dakota FloodThe Black Hills Flood of 1972, in the Black Hills of Western South Dakota, USA, occurred on June 9, 1972. The extreme rainfall of around of rain in 6 hours sent Rapid Creek and other creeks overflowing and flooded many residential and commercial properties around the Black Hills...
- June 1972
A frontal zone was banked up against the
Black HillsThe Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of trees...
of South Dakota on the morning of June 9. Heavy rainfall, with amounts of nearly 381 mm (15 in) near
KeystoneKeystone is a town in the Black Hills region of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 311 at the 2000 census. It had its origins in 1883 as a mining town, and has since transformed itself into a resort town, serving the needs of the millions of visitors to Mount...
, mainly between 6 pm and midnight.
Rapid CreekRapid Creek is a tributary of the Cheyenne River, approximately 86 mi long, in South Dakota in the United States.It rises in southwestern South Dakota, in the Black Hills National Forest in the Black Hills in Pennington County. It flows east, is joined by Castle Creek, past Silver City and...
overflowed at 10:15 pm. Canyon Lake Dam failed at 10:45 pm, adding to the flood's magnitude. The flood crest, reached around 12:15 am, ravaged Rapid City and surrounding canyons. The death toll was 238.
The
Rapid City Public LibraryThe Rapid City Public Library is the system of public libraries in Rapid City, South Dakota. It has two locations, the downtown branch at 610 Quincy Street, and the North location at 10 Van Buren St...
hosts a more comprehensive digital archive of Flood-related stories, photos and news accounts on
Their 1972 Flood page
Hurricane AgnesHurricane Agnes was the first tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. A rare June hurricane, it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle before moving northeastward and ravaging the Mid-Atlantic region as a tropical storm...
Flood - June 1972
Agnes moved into the coast of the
Florida panhandleThe Florida Panhandle is the region of the state of Florida which includes most of the northwestern part of the state. It is a narrow strip lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south...
as a weak hurricane. Weakening into a tropical depression over
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
, a major trough in the
WesterliesThe Westerlies or the Prevailing Westerlies are the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes between 35 and 65 degrees latitude, blowing from the high pressure area in the horse latitudes towards the poles. These prevailing winds blow from the west to the east, and steer extratropical cyclones in...
approached the cyclone, which subsequently strengthened Agnes over land back into a tropical storm in
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
, although it also developed a more western cyclone. The two moved in tandem, with Agnes moving offshore
Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 234,403 as of the 2000 census, it is Virginia's second-largest incorporated city behind its eastern neighbor, Virginia Beach....
and becoming a strong tropical storm. Eventually, the western nontropical low wrapped Agnes inland, which was then absorbed over
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
. These cyclones led to 150-254 mm (6-10 in) of rain over North Carolina, with 254-483 mm (10 -19 in) falling across the remainder of the
Mid-Atlantic statesThe Mid-Atlantic States form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
. The flood unleashed by the system was the greatest natural disaster in damages for the United States up until that time.
Michigan Floods - April 1975
A major flood struck the
Lower Peninsula of MichiganThe Lower Peninsula of Michigan is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. Geographically, the Lower Peninsula has a recognizable shape that many people associate with a mitten, with the mid-eastern region identified as The Thumb...
. In early April, a foot/30 cm of snow fell across the region. Intense rainfall on April 18 and April 19 of 75-125 mm (3-5 in) fell over a short time frame into the residual snowpack, increasing the magnitude of the flood. The flood peaked between April 19 and April 22, primarily in the
KalamazooThe Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is 166 miles long from the headwaters of the southern branch to Lake Michigan...
,
GrandThe Grand River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It runs 260 miles through the cities of Eaton Rapids, Jackson, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven.-Description:...
,
FlintThe Flint River is a river in southeast Michigan, 142 mi long, that flows through the city of Flint and the counties of Genesee, Lapeer, Saginaw and Shiawassee.- Course :...
, and
Shiawassee RiverThe Shiawassee River in the U.S. state of Michigan is approximately long and generally flows in a northerly direction. It merges together with the Flint River, the Cass River and the Tittabawassee River to become the Saginaw River which eventually drains into the Saginaw Bay of Lake...
basins. The recurrence interval for this kind of flood is 50-100 years.
LansingLansing is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan, and the state's sixth largest city. It is located about 80 miles west-northwest of Detroit and is mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County...
and
FlintFlint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, 66 miles northwest of Detroit. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 124,943, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the Flint/Tri-Cities...
saw the most damage, which overall totaled US$50 million (1975 dollars).
Big ThompsonThe Big Thompson River is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 78 miles long, in the U.S. state of Colorado.The headwaters of the river begin in Forest Canyon within Rocky Mountain National Park in Larimer County, Colorado. The river flows east, through Moraine Park to the town of...
Canyon Flood (July 1976)
Moist easterly flow went up the terrain, forming
thunderstormA thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, a hailstorm, or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically-assigned cloud type associated with the...
s beginning at 6 pm and lasting to 9 pm on July 31. 200 mm (8 in) of rain fell in one hour, with over 300 mm (1 ft) falling during the event. A 5.8 m (19 ft) high fall of water swept down the canyon, taking everything in its path downstream. It was one of the deadliest freshwater floods in U.S. history, as 143 people perished during the
flash floodA flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas - washes, rivers and streams. It is caused by heavy rain associated with a thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm. Flash floods can also occur after the collapse of an ice dam, or a human structure, such as a dam, for example, the...
. Houses destroyed totaled 418. Overall damage was US$40 million (1976 dollars). In the aftermath of the storm, regulations were passed to limit development in similar canyons.
Kansas City Flash Flood of 1977 - September 1977
An estimated 400 mm (16 in) of rain caused the banks of
Brush CreekBrush Creek is a stream that runs from Johnson County, Kansas through Jackson County, Missouri.The stream has played a major historic role in the Kansas City metropolitan area....
to overflow into the
Country Club PlazaThe Country Club Plaza is an upscale shopping district and residential neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It was the first shopping center in the world designed to accommodate shoppers arriving by automobile...
area on the night of September 12, 1977. The flood caused 25 deaths and between $80 and $100 million in damages.
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
Flood - 1978
Flooding throughout the region caused millions of dollars in damage.
Tropical Storm AmeliaTropical Storm Amelia was a weak tropical storm that brought heavy rain and damage to Texas in July of the 1978 Atlantic hurricane season. Amelia formed on July 30 after wandering around the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea for a week and a half...
Floods of August 1978
Tropical Storm AmeliaThe name Amelia has been used for one tropical cyclone in the North Atlantic Ocean and two tropical cyclones to the north of Australia.Atlantic Ocean:* 1978's Tropical Storm Amelia - A weak tropical storm that made landfall in Texas...
skirted the lower
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
coast and went ashore south of
Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties.MSA population in 2008 is 416, 376. The population was 277,454 at the 2000 census; in 2006 the US Census...
during the night of the July 30/July 31. The circulation was followed inland west of
San AntonioSan Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventh-largest city in the United States. The city is characteristic of other Southwest urban centers in which there are sparsely populated areas and a low density rate outside of the city. It was the fourth-fastest growing...
on August 1 before becoming diffuse. Rainfall increased despite the lack of a surface circulation, and disastrous flooding occurred in many south
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
river basins, including the
Guadalupe RiverThe Guadalupe River runs from Kerr County, Texas to San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is a popular destination for rafters and canoers. Larger cities along the river include New Braunfels, Kerrville, Seguin, Gonzales, Cuero, and Victoria...
and its tributaries. Extensive damage occurred, and 30 people lost their lives in the flood. The maximum rainfall total in Texas occurred in
MedinaMedina is a census-designated place in Bandera County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,960 at the 2000 census. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, where 1219 mm (48 in) of rain was deposited due to mesoscale convective systems firing along a
frontFront may refer to:* The Front, 1976 film* "The Front" * Front , British men's magazine* Front , area where armies are engaged in conflict...
al boundary induced by Amelia's remnant circulation aloft.
Lower Mississippi Flood of 1983
This was the second most severe flood in the lower
MississippiThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
Basin since 1927. Red River Landing, Louisiana, was flooded for 115 days. Damages totaled US$15.7 million (1983 dollars).
Utah Flood of 1983
In the winters of 1983, Utah reached record precipitation. This swelled City Creek, which flows through Salt Lake City via underground conduits. On May 28, debris clogged the conduits, causing the creek to overflow on State Street, one of the main thoroughfares of the city. Aggressive sandbagging managed to divert the floor waters to other underground rivers via State Street, but temporary pedestrian bridges were needed for several weeks.
Flooding in the central AppalachiansThe Appalachian Mountains , often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. Definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians...
- November 1985
The antecedent event to this flood was the passage of
Hurricane JuanHurricane Juan was a hurricane that formed in October 1985 and looped twice near the Louisiana coast, causing torrential flooding for several days. Juan was the costliest hurricane of the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season, and at the time was among the costliest of all historical U.S. hurricanes...
to the west of the area, which led to over 175 mm (7 in) of rain in the
Blue Ridge MountainsThe Blue Ridge, or Blue Ridge Mountains, is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at...
, though less than 25 mm (1 in) to the
Mountain StateWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast...
. After Juan passed by, an occluded system moved slowly northward from the
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United...
through the
Mid-Atlantic StatesThe Mid-Atlantic States form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
during the first days of November, leading to significant rainfall for the central Appalachians. Local amounts of 508 mm (20 in) of rain were reported from
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast...
, worse than the flooding the state witnessed in 1888. This led to debris flows and widespread damage in the Upper
Potomac RiverThe Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately 383 statute miles long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles . In terms of area, this makes the Potomac River the fourth largest river along the...
basin and
Cheat RiverThe Cheat River is a tributary of the Monongahela River in eastern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Via the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.-Geography:...
Basin in West Virginia and
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
. Damage was severe where the South Branch joins the North Branch of the Potomac. The
Paw Paw TunnelThe Paw Paw Tunnel is a long canal tunnel in Maryland on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which was built to bypass the Paw-Paw bends, a six-mile stretch of the Potomac River containing five horseshoe bends. Construction on the tunnel began in 1836, and the tunnel was not completed until 1850...
was flooded. The death toll was 50 from West Virginia.
Northern CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
and Western NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
Floods of February 1986
On February 11, a vigorous low pressure system drifted east out of the Pacific, creating a
pineapple expressPineapple Express is a non-technical, shorthand term popular in the news media for a meteorological phenomenon which is characterized by a strong and persistent flow of atmospheric moisture and associated heavy rainfall from the waters adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands and extending to any location...
that lasted through February 24 unleashing unprecedented amounts of rain on Northern California and Western Nevada. The nine day storm over California constituted half of the average annual rainfall for the year. Record flooding occurred in three streams that drain to the southern part of the
San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
area. Extensive flooding occurred in
NapaThe Napa River, approximately 55 miles long, is a river in the U.S. state of California. It drains a famous wine-growing region, called the Napa Valley, in the mountains northeast of San Francisco. Milliken Creek is a tributary of the Napa River....
and
Russian RiverThe Russian River is a southward-flowing river in the Northern California counties of Mendocino and Sonoma.-Course:The Russian River springs from the Laughlin Range about east of Willits in Mendocino County. It flows generally southward to Redwood Valley, then parallels U.S...
s. Napa, north of San Francisco recorded their worst flood to this time while nearby
CalistogaCalistoga is a city in Napa County, California, United States. The population was 5,190 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Calistoga is located at ....
recorded 736 mm (29 in) of rain in 10 days creating a once-in-a-thousand-year rainfall event. Records for 24 hour rain events were reported in the Central Valley and in the Sierra. One thousand-year rainfalls were recorded in the Sierras. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded in the Central Valley at 447 mm (17.6 in) occurred on February 17 at Four Trees in the
Feather RiverThe Feather River is a principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in length, in Northern California in the United States. It drains part of the northern Sierra Nevada the extreme southern Cascades, and a small portion of the middle of the Sacramento Valley. The river has a rich history of gold...
basinA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
. In Sacramento, nearly 254 mm (10 in) of rain fell in an 11-day period. System breaks in the
Sacramento RiverThe Sacramento River is the longest river entirely within the state of California. Starting at the confluence of the South Fork and Middle Fork of the Sacramento River, near Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range mountains, the Sacramento flows south for , through the northern Central Valley of...
basinA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
included disastrous
leveeA levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial slope or wall to regulate water levels...
breaks in the Olivehurst and
LindaLinda is a census-designated place in Yuba County, California, United States. The population was 13,474 at the 2000 census. Linda is located north-northwest of Olivehurst.-Geography:Linda is located at ....
area on the
Feather RiverThe Feather River is a principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in length, in Northern California in the United States. It drains part of the northern Sierra Nevada the extreme southern Cascades, and a small portion of the middle of the Sacramento Valley. The river has a rich history of gold...
.
LindaLinda is a census-designated place in Yuba County, California, United States. The population was 13,474 at the 2000 census. Linda is located north-northwest of Olivehurst.-Geography:Linda is located at ....
, about 65 km (40 mi) north of Sacramento, was devastated after the levee broke on the
Yuba RiverThe Yuba River is an important river in California and a major tributary of the Feather River, which is a tributary of the Sacramento River. The river begins as three separate forks, the north, south and middle, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The north fork begins at Yuba Pass and flows into the...
's south fork, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. In the
San Joaquin RiverThe San Joaquin River , long, is the second-longest river in California. The average unimpaired runoff of the main stem of the river at Millerton Reservoir is about 1.8 million acre feet per year . The San Joaquin and its eight major tributaries drain about of California's San Joaquin Valley...
basinA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
and the Delta, levees break along the
Mokelumne RiverThe Mokelumne River is a river in Northern California. The Upper Mokelumne River originates in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and flows into Camanche Reservoir in the Sierra foothills. The Lower Mokelumne River refers to the portion of the river below Camanche Dam...
caused flooding in the community of Thornton and the inundation of four Delta islands.
Lake TahoeLake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. It is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America...
rose 15 cm (6 in) as a result of high inflow.
The California flood resulted in 13 deaths, 50,000 people were evacuated and over $400 million in property damage.
Three thousand residents of Linda joined in a class action lawsuit,
Paterno v. State of California, which eventually reached the California Supreme Court in 2004. The California high court affirmed the District Court of Appeal's decision that said California was liable for millions of dollars in damages.
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
Floods - September 1986
A slow-moving storm system moved from the
central PlainsThe Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
into the
Great LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. They are sometimes referred to as the "Third...
. Rainfall amounts by September 10 were 200-330 mm (8-13 in) over a two day period. Damage was unprecedented. Dam failure abounded with a total of 14 dams undermined and an addition 19 dams at risk during the event. Four major bridges failed. Thousands of acres of sugar beets, beans, potatoes, corn, and other vegetables were in ruin. A total of six people perished during the flood. Damage totaled US$500 million (1986 dollars), and 30 counties were declared Federal disaster areas.
Androscoggin RiverThe Androscoggin River is a river in the US states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is 178 miles long and joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before its water empties into the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean...
Flood - April 1987
The largest and most destructive flood in the history of this
MaineThe State of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is the northernmost portion of...
river occurred due to four days of rained combined with melting snow and ice flows. Hardest hit areas include Lewiston, Rumford, and Mexico.
Jay'sJay is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,985 at the 2000 census. Jay, which includes the village of Chisholm, is the regional commercial center.-History:...
industrial section was inundated.
May to September 1992 Alaska Floods
From May to September 1992 in
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
a combination of ice jams, snow melt, and heavy
rainRain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to other kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface...
s caused the worst
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
ing in this area. It is said to be one of the worst disasters recorded here.
RiverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
s reached record stages during this
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
.
Great Flood of 1993The Great Flood of 1993 was among the most costly and devastating ever to occur in the United States, with $15 billion in damages. The hydrographic basin affected covered around 745 miles in length and 435 miles in width, totaling about 320,000 square miles...
along Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
Soils became saturated in the fall of 1992 across the Midwest. Numerous rounds of showers and thunderstorms from mid-June into August led to significant
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
ing. Over 1000 mm (39 in) of rainfall fell in isolated spots. Some areas of the Mississippi Valley were
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
ed for over 200 days, leading to destruction spread across nine states. This was the flood of record along many of the streams and rivers that feed the Mississippi and
MissouriThe Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, and is the longest river in the United States of America. The Missouri likely originates at Brower's Spring at the upper reaches of the Jefferson, before joining the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers in Montana....
rivers. Around 50,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The death toll was 50, and damage totaled US$15 billion (1993 dollars).
The result of this flood was an aggressive campaign by the federal government to buy out flooded agricultural land from willing sellers.
Tropical Storm Alberto (1994)Tropical Storm Alberto was the first storm of the 1994 Atlantic hurricane season. It hit Florida across the Southeast United States in July, causing a massive flooding disaster while stalling over Georgia and Alabama. Alberto caused $750 million in damage and 30 deaths.-Meteorological...
Floods in the Southeast
This
tropical cycloneA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones feed on heat released when moist air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor contained in the moist air...
made landfall in the
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
panhandle before stalling south of
Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States....
. Flooding was near or at record levels for the
FlintThe Flint River is an approximately long river, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains 8,460 sq mi of western Georgia, flowing south from the upper Piedmont region south of Atlanta to the wetlands of the coastal plain in the southwestern corner of the state. Along with the Apalachicola...
,
OcmulgeeThe Ocmulgee River is a tributary of the Altamaha River, approximately 255 mi long, in the U.S. state of Georgia...
,
ChattahoocheeThe Chattahoochee River runs from the Chattahoochee Spring in the Appalachian Mountains of northeastern Georgia, near the Carolinas, to the southwestward to Atlanta and through its suburbs. It eventually turns to the due south to form the southern half of the Georgia/Alabama state line...
,
ChoctawhatcheeThe Choctawhatchee River is a river in the southern United States, flowing through southeast Alabama and the Panhandle of Florida before emptying into Choctawhatchee Bay in Okaloosa and Walton counties...
, and
Apalachicola RiverThe Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the U.S. state Florida. The river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northwest Georgia is approximately...
s.
Americus, GeorgiaAmericus is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2000 census. Americus is the home of Habitat for Humanity International's international headquarters, the famous Windsor Hotel , Fuller Center for Housing international headquarters, The Rosalynn Carter...
saw the heaviest rain in a 24 hour period, when 536 mm (21.1 in) was recorded. The death toll was 33, with two-thirds coming from people driving into flooded areas. Thousands of homes were destroyed. Damage totaled US$750 million (1994 dollars).
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
Flood - January and March 1995
During the events of January and March 1995, over 100 stations recorded their greatest 1-day rainfalls in that station’s history. The major brunt of the January storms hit the
Sacramento RiverThe Sacramento River is the longest river entirely within the state of California. Starting at the confluence of the South Fork and Middle Fork of the Sacramento River, near Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range mountains, the Sacramento flows south for , through the northern Central Valley of...
Basin and resulted in small stream flooding primarily due to storm drainage system failures, though flooding affected nearly every part of the state. The
Salinas RiverThe Salinas River is the largest river of the central coast of California, draining nearly 4,200 square miles. It flows north-northwest and drains the Salinas Valley that slices through the Coast Range south from Monterey Bay...
exceeded its previous measured record crest by more than 1.3 m (4 ft), which was within 30-60 cm (1-2 ft) of the reputed crest of the legendary 1862 flood. The
Napa RiverThe Napa River, approximately 55 miles long, is a river in the U.S. state of California. It drains a famous wine-growing region, called the Napa Valley, in the mountains northeast of San Francisco. Milliken Creek is a tributary of the Napa River....
set a new peak record with the
RussianThe Russian River is a southward-flowing river in the Northern California counties of Mendocino and Sonoma.-Course:The Russian River springs from the Laughlin Range about east of Willits in Mendocino County. It flows generally southward to Redwood Valley, then parallels U.S...
and
Pajaro RiverThe Pajaro River is a river in Northern California, forming part of the border between Santa Cruz County and Monterey County and between San Benito County and Santa Clara County....
s approached their record peaks. Twenty-eight people were killed and the flood cost $1.8 billion.
May 8th 1995 Louisiana FloodThe May 8th and 9th 1995 New Orleans Flood struck the New Orleans metropolitan area, shutting down the city for two days. It was a two-event phenomenon. Areas south of the lake began receiving tremendous amounts of rain at approximately 5:30 p.m. on May 7th, continuing into the early morning...
A stalled front led to excessive rains across southeast
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Rainfall up to 500 mm (20 in) fell across the Crescent City, with 250 mm (12 in) falling within a six hour period. Seven lives were lost, 35,000 homes were flooded along with thousands of businesses across southeast Louisiana. Damage estimates were around US$1 billion (1995 dollars).
Northeast United States Flood of January 1996
Significant snowfall during the first 20 days of January led to a snowpack across the region. Some areas of the
NortheastThe Northeastern United States is a region of the United States. According to the definition used by the United States Census Bureau, the Northeast region consists of nine states: the New England states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut; and the...
had received two to three times their average
precipitationIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the Earth's surface. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow, ice pellets, and graupel...
since December 1. Significant snowpack was in place on January 18. Then, a period significant warming took place across the East, mainly during a 30 hour period, which led to ice jam floods across western
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
and
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Surface dew points rose into the 50s and 60s Fahrenheit/teens Celsius, which rapidly melted the snowpack. Then, a heavy rain event occurred along a frontal zone moving in from the west, which led to 25-27 mm (1-3 in) of rainfall between January 18 and January 19. Some areas lost 30-60 cm (1-2 ft) of snow in only 12 hours, which led to the bulk of the flooding.
The
OhioThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. It is approximately 981 miles long and is located in the eastern United States....
and
SusquehannaThe Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At approximately 444 mi long, it is the longest river on the American east coast, the 16th longest in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United States without commercial boat traffic...
rivers experienced their highest river crests since
Hurricane AgnesHurricane Agnes was the first tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. A rare June hurricane, it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle before moving northeastward and ravaging the Mid-Atlantic region as a tropical storm...
and
Hurricane EloiseHurricane Eloise was the fifth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1975 Atlantic hurricane season. The most destructive hurricane of the season, it caused 80 deaths and $2.2 billion in damage as it dumped heavy rain along its path through the Greater Antilles...
. The
Delaware RiverThe Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.The Delaware was explored by Adriaen Block as part of the New Netherlands Colony, and was named the South River to mark the southernmost reach of that colony....
at
Trenton, New JerseyTrenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated that the City of Trenton had a population of 82,804....
saw its highest crest since
Hurricane ConnieHurricane Connie was the first in a series of hurricanes to strike North Carolina during the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season. Connie struck as a Category 1, causing major flooding and inflicting extensive damage to the Outer Banks and inland to Raleigh....
and
Hurricane DianeHurricane Diane was one of three hurricanes to hit North Carolina during the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season. Diane struck an area that had been hit by Hurricane Connie five days earlier. Diane was the costliest hurricane in United States history until it was surpassed by Hurricane Betsy in 1965,...
moved by in 1955. The South Branch of the Potomac, as well as the
CheatThe Cheat River is a tributary of the Monongahela River in eastern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Via the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.-Geography:...
and
MonongahelaThe Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in North-Central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
rivers in
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast...
and
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
experienced their highest levels since early November 1985, which was the flood of record for the region. A total of 33 people died during the event, with 18 from
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
and 9 from
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It was the worst flood event for the
Mid-Atlantic statesThe Mid-Atlantic States form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
as a whole since 1985.
Willamette Valley Flood of 1996The Willamette Valley Flood of 1996 was part of a larger series of floods in the Pacific Northwest of the United States which took place between late January and mid-February, 1996. It was Oregon's largest flood event in terms of fatalities and monetary damage during the 1990s...
This was the biggest
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
for the region since December 1964. Heavy logging had occurred across the region in the previous 30 years. Above normal rainfall had been occurring since November 1 of 1995, which led to significant snowpack in the mountains by late January. Western
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
then experienced a 150-300 mm (6-12 in) of rainfall on February 5 to February 7, which in combination with temperatures rising into the 60s Fahrenheit/upper teens Celsius led to the flood.
New England Flood - October 1996
A stationary front across the region drawing moisture from
Hurricane LiliHurricane Lili, a Category 3 hurricane during the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season, caused considerable damage across Central America, Cuba, and the Bahamas, and left £150 million in damage in the United Kingdom.-Meteorological history:...
led to extreme rains across
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
. Factories and mills in
LawrenceLawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 72,043. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are the county...
,
HaverhillHaverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 58,969 at the 2000 census.-Early History:The town was founded in 1640 by settlers from Newbury, and was originally known as Pentucket, which is the native American word for "place of the winding river."The town...
, and
Lowell, MassachusettsLowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 105,167. It is the fifth largest city in the state...
were severely impaired during the event. A total of 81 bridges needed to be rebuilt after the flood. A large portion of
Hartford, ConnecticutHartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located in Hartford County on the Connecticut River, north of the center of the state, south of Springfield, Massachusetts. Its 2006 population of 124,512 ranks Hartford as the state's second-largest city, after Bridgeport. New...
was submerged.
Northern CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
Flood of New Year's Day 1997
A series of tropical storms collectively called a
pineapple connectionPineapple Express is a non-technical, shorthand term popular in the news media for a meteorological phenomenon which is characterized by a strong and persistent flow of atmospheric moisture and associated heavy rainfall from the waters adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands and extending to any location...
, hit northern California from late December 1996 to early January 1997. December 1996 was one of the wettest Decembers on record.
The
Klamath RiverThe Klamath River, called Ishkêesh by the Karuk and Koke by the Klamath tribe, is a river in southeastern Oregon and northern California in the United States. Beginning at the outlet of Upper Klamath Lake east of the Cascade Range, the river drains in parts of three Oregon counties and five in...
on California's
North CoastThe North Coast is a region of the U.S. state of California commonly including Marin County, Sonoma County, Mendocino County, Humboldt County, and Del Norte County....
experienced significant flooding which led to the river permanently changing course in some areas. The
Klamath National ForestKlamath National Forest is a 1,737,774-acre national forest overwhelmingly located in Siskiyou County in northern California, but with a tiny extension into southern Jackson County in Oregon. The forest contains continuous stands of ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, Douglas fir, red fir, white fir...
experienced its worst flood since 1974. Unprecedented flows from rain surged into the
Feather RiverThe Feather River is a principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in length, in Northern California in the United States. It drains part of the northern Sierra Nevada the extreme southern Cascades, and a small portion of the middle of the Sacramento Valley. The river has a rich history of gold...
basin while melted snow surged into the
San Joaquin RiverThe San Joaquin River , long, is the second-longest river in California. The average unimpaired runoff of the main stem of the river at Millerton Reservoir is about 1.8 million acre feet per year . The San Joaquin and its eight major tributaries drain about of California's San Joaquin Valley...
basin. Rain fell at elevations up to 3300 meters (11000 ft), prompting snow melt. With these warm weather storms generally comes large amounts of snow melt. The
Cosumnes RiverThe Cosumnes River is a tributary of the Mokelumne River , approximately 80 mi long, in northern California in the United States...
, a
tributaryA tributary is a stream or river which flows into a main stem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body...
to the San Joaquin River bore the brunt of the flooding.
SacramentoSacramento, an Italian-, Spanish- and Portuguese-language word meaning sacrament, is a common toponym in parts of the world where those tongues were or are spoken....
is spared though
leveeA levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial slope or wall to regulate water levels...
failures flood Olivehurst, Arboga,
WiltonWilton is a census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,551 at the 2000 census.-Geography and environment:...
,
MantecaManteca is a city in , USA. As of November 2005, the city's population is approximately some 65,000 residents.- History :Manteca is a city in the central valley of California, about 80 miles east of San Francisco. It was founded in 1861 by Joshua Cowell...
, and Modesto. Massive landslides in the
Eldorado National ForestEldorado National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, with a tiny portion extending into Nevada. Most of the forest lies in El Dorado County. In descending order of land area the others counties are Amador, Alpine, and Placer counties in...
east of Sacramento closed
Highway 50U.S. Route 50 is a major east-west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over from Ocean City, Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean to West Sacramento, California. Until 1972, when it was replaced by Interstate Highways west of Sacramento, it extended to San Francisco, near the Pacific...
. Damages totaled US$35 million (1997 dollars).
Watersheds in the Sierra Nevada were already saturated by the time three subtropical storms added more than 760 mm (30 in) of rain in late December 1996 and early January 1997.
Levee failures due to breaks or overtopping in the
Sacramento RiverThe Sacramento River is the longest river entirely within the state of California. Starting at the confluence of the South Fork and Middle Fork of the Sacramento River, near Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range mountains, the Sacramento flows south for , through the northern Central Valley of...
Basin resulted in extensive damages. In the
San Joaquin RiverThe San Joaquin River , long, is the second-longest river in California. The average unimpaired runoff of the main stem of the river at Millerton Reservoir is about 1.8 million acre feet per year . The San Joaquin and its eight major tributaries drain about of California's San Joaquin Valley...
Basin, dozens of levees failed throughout the river system and produced widespread flooding. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta also experienced several levee breaks and levee overtopping. Forty-eight counties were declared disaster areas, including all 46 counties in northern California. Over 23,000 homes and businesses, agricultural lands, bridges, roads and flood management infrastructures – valued at about $2 billion – were damaged. Nine people were killed and 120,000 people were evacuated from their homes. Three hundred square miles were flooded, including the
Yosemite ValleyYosemite Valley is a world-famous scenic location in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. It is the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park, attracting visitors from all parts of the globe....
, which flooded for the first time since 1861-62.
Ohio River Valley Flood of March 1997
150-300 mm (6-12 in) of rain fell upon northern
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
and southern
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
between March 1 and March 3. A total of six states were impacted by the event. Record flooding was witnessed along most rivers in northern Kentucky, surpassing that of 1937. Near-record flooding was recorded in Ohio, mainly along Brush Creek and the
SciotoThe Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length . It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
and
Great Miami RiverThe Great Miami River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southwestern Ohio in the United States.The Great Miami flows through Dayton, Piqua, Troy, and Sidney....
s. Eastern sections of
HigginsportHigginsport is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 291 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Higginsport is located at ....
went underwater, leaving only one route in and out of town. It was Ohio's worst flood in 30 years. The death toll from the event was 33, with 21 lives lost in Kentucky and 5 lost in Ohio. Hundreds were injured.
1997 Red River Flood
The prior winter was one of the snowiest on record for the
northern PlainsThe Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, with 297 cm (117 in) falling at
Fargo, North DakotaFargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2008, its population was estimated at nearly 100,000 and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 195,685...
. During the spring thaw, this creates problems as it is usually colder in southern
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, which makes ice jam flooding a major concern for this river basin. Starting in early February, a major flood was anticipated, over two months before the flood. This gave the region plenty of time to sandbag the nearby dikes. The river began rising on April 4, and flooding the area on April 18 as the flood waters rose up to 1.5 m (5 ft) above the long term prediction. Dikes gave way, and
Grand ForksGrand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. In July 2007, its population was estimated at 51,740, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 97,691...
was inundated. Between 75-90% of the residents had been evacuated prior to this time. Fires began to break out on the 19th as electric lines shorted out, which destroyed 11 buildings in downtown. The river and associated flood waters began to recede on April 23.
Fort Collins, Colorado Flood of July 1997
On July 27, upslope flow into the
Front RangeThe Front Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains of North America that is located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado...
of the
RockiesThe Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States. The range's highest peak is Mount Elbert in Colorado at above sea level...
forced dewpoint temperatures to around 16 °C (60 °F). By 5 pm local time, thunderstorms began to erupt. Within 30 minutes, local amounts of 50 mm (2 in) had fallen near
LaporteLaporte is a census-designated place in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,691 at the 2000 census...
and
LivermoreLivermore is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The Livermore Post Office has the ZIP Code 80536....
, with 50 mm (2 in) more falling near
Loveland-Places:Places in Colorado, United States:*Loveland, Colorado*Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport*Loveland Ski Area*Loveland Pass*Loveland Building and Coors Building*Loveland Mountain, a peak in the Pike National ForestOther places in the United States:...
before the storm weakened around 8 pm. South of
Fort CollinsFort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With an estimated 2008...
, new thunderstorm development began around 10 pm, which spread north through the city, dumping another 12 mm (0.5 in) of rain before dissipating. Around midnight on July 28, upslope flow increased behind a cold front that triggered the initial thunderstorms. Steady rains began around 1 am, ending for the most part around 4 am for much of the region except for a narrow swath including Fort Collins, where rains continued towards 7 am. However, rains renewed across the region between 8 am and noon. An additional 150-200 mm (6-8 in) of rain had fallen near Laporte. By that evening, thunderstorms redeveloped. Starting at 7 pm, heavy rains fell at
Colorado State UniversityColorado State University is a public institution of higher learning located in Fort Collins, Colorado in the United States. Colorado State University is the state's land grant university and the flagship campus university of the Colorado State University System. The enrollment is approximately...
. Between 8:30 and 10 pm, very heavy rains struck Fort Collins again. A total of over 250 mm (10 in) fell during this time frame, which brought storm totals to 368 mm (14.5 in) in southwest Fort Collins. The ensuing flooding of
Spring CreekSpring Creek is a tributary of the Cache La Poudre River in the state of Colorado in the United States.Spring Creek begins north of Horsetooth Mountain within Horsetooth Mountain Park just east of Fort Collins, Colorado and flows into Horsetooth Reservoir...
caused a freight train to derail and completely destroyed two mobile home parks. Damage totaled in the hundreds of millions of dollars. This flood event helped spawn a developing rainfall mesonet for the United States, known as CoCoRAHS, which was anticipated to help detect ongoing flash flood events in real-time.
Central and South Texas Flood of October 1998
A tropical connection of moisture from Hurricane Madeline intercepted a stationary frontal zone, leading to extreme rainfall. Between October 17 and October 18, rain totals of up to 559 mm (22 in) were recorded across central and southern
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
, which led to the flood of record in southern Texas. A total of 31 perished during the event, 17 of which were found in flooded vehicles. Damage approached US$750 million (1998 dollars).
Hurricane FloydHurricane Floyd was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season.Floyd triggered the third largest evacuation in US history when 2.6 million coastal residents of five states including Florida were ordered from their homes as...
Floods in East - September 1999
The antecedent conditions included the passage of
Tropical Storm DennisHurricane Dennis of the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season was a Category 2 hurricane that was erratic in both track and intensity. Although it never made landfall as a hurricane, the storm was responsible for producing hurricane force winds along the North Carolina coast along with beach erosion. The...
through the Mid-Atlantic states during the first week of September. Only 10 days later, the combination of a stalled frontal zone, strong dynamics aloft, and a hurricane moving up the East coast led to excessive rainfall from
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
northward up the
Eastern SeaboardAn Eastern seaboard can mean any easternmost part of a continent, or its countries, states and/or cities.Eastern seaboard may also refer to:*East Coast of the United States*East Coast of Australia*Eastern Seaboard of Thailand...
between September 14 and September 17, with amounts of near 508 mm (20 in) being reported near
Wilmington, North CarolinaWilmington is a city in and the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 75,838 at the 2000 Census. A July 1, 2008 United States Census Bureau estimate places the population at 100,192...
, and 150-300 mm (6-12 in) falling farther up the coast. It was the most damaging flood in the history of
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
. In
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
, the storm flooded
BelknapBelknap County is one of ten counties in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is located in New Hampshire's Lakes Region, slightly southeast of the state's geographic center. The county seat is Laconia. As of 2000, the county's population was 56,325....
,
CheshireCheshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of 2000, the population was 73,825. Its county seat is Keene.Cheshire was one of the five original counties of New Hampshire, and is named for Cheshire in England. It was organized in 1771 at Keene.-Geography:According to...
, and
GraftonGrafton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2000 census, the population was 81,743. Its county seat is North Haverhill, which is a village within the town of Haverhill. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices were located in downtown Woodsville, a...
counties. Of the 57 deaths attributed to Floyd, 46 were due to drowning in the flood; 35 from
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
alone. Damage estimates were near US$5 billion (1999 dollars).
See also
- Floods in the United States through 1900
- Floods in the United States: 2001-present
Floods in the United States are generally caused by excessive rainfall, excessive snowmelt, storm surge from hurricanes, and dam failure. Below is a list of flood events which were of significant impact to the country, since 2001.-Decade of the 2000s:...
- Great Flood of 1993
The Great Flood of 1993 was among the most costly and devastating ever to occur in the United States, with $15 billion in damages. The hydrographic basin affected covered around 745 miles in length and 435 miles in width, totaling about 320,000 square miles...
- Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes was the first tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. A rare June hurricane, it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle before moving northeastward and ravaging the Mid-Atlantic region as a tropical storm...
- Hurricane Camille
Hurricane Camille was the third and strongest tropical cyclone and second hurricane during the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season. The second of three catastrophic Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the United States during the 20th century, which it did near the mouth of the Mississippi River...
- Hurricane Floyd (1999)
- May 8th 1995 Louisiana Flood
The May 8th and 9th 1995 New Orleans Flood struck the New Orleans metropolitan area, shutting down the city for two days. It was a two-event phenomenon. Areas south of the lake began receiving tremendous amounts of rain at approximately 5:30 p.m. on May 7th, continuing into the early morning...
- Napa River flood of 1986
The Napa River flood of 1986 was the worst flood ever recorded in Napa, California. 5,000 people were evacuated, 250 homes were destroyed, and 3 people died...
- Red River Flood, 1997
The Red River Flood of 1997 was a major flood that occurred in April and May 1997, along the Red River of the North in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Southern Manitoba. It was the most severe flood of the river since 1826...
- Tropical Storm Alberto (1994)
Tropical Storm Alberto was the first storm of the 1994 Atlantic hurricane season. It hit Florida across the Southeast United States in July, causing a massive flooding disaster while stalling over Georgia and Alabama. Alberto caused $750 million in damage and 30 deaths.-Meteorological...
- Tropical Storm Allison (1989)
Tropical Storm Allison was the first tropical cyclone, first named storm, and first tropical storm of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm moved over Texas, producing heavy rain, and causing $560 million dollars in damage....
- United States tropical cyclone rainfall climatology
The United States tropical cyclone rainfall climatology concerns the amount of precipitation, primarily in the form of rain, which occurs during tropical cyclones and their extratropical cyclone remnants across the United States...
- Willamette Valley Flood of 1996
The Willamette Valley Flood of 1996 was part of a larger series of floods in the Pacific Northwest of the United States which took place between late January and mid-February, 1996. It was Oregon's largest flood event in terms of fatalities and monetary damage during the 1990s...
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