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FLOODING ON THE MISSISSIPPI

Mark Twain wrote that if the Mississippi were a "little European river... it would just be a holiday job... to wall it, and pile it, and dike it, and tame it down, and boss it around... But this ain't that kind of a river."

THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1993

The 1993 midwest flood was one of the most significant and damaging natural disasters ever to hit the United States. Damages totaled $15 billion, 50 people died, hundreds of levees failed, and thousands of people were evacuated, some for months. The flood was unusual in the magnitude of the crests, the number of record crests, the large area impacted, and the length of the time of the flood.Some locations on the Mississippi River flooded for almost 200 days while locations on the Missouri neared 100 days of flooding It was estimated that nearly all of the 700 privately built agricultural levees were overtopped or destroyed. Navigation on the Mississippi and Missouri River had been closed since early July resulting in a loss of $2 million (1993) per day in commerce

It ranked as one of the greatest natural disasters ever to hit the United States. Approximately 600 river forecast places in the Midwestern United States were above flood stage at the same time. Nearly 150 major rivers and tributaries were affected. It was the largest and most significant flood event ever to occur in the United States.

During June through August 1993, rainfall totals surpassed 12 inches across the eastern Dakotas, southern Minnesota, eastern Nebraska, Wisconsin, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. More than 24 inches of rain fell on central and northeastern Kansas, northern and central Missouri, most of Iowa, southern Minnesota, and southeastern Nebraska, with up to 38.4 inches in east-central Iowa Many locations in the nine-state area experienced rain on 20 days or more in July, compared to an average of 8-9 days with rain.

The Great Flood of 1993 had been set by June 1 with saturated soils and streams filled to capacity across the Upper Midwest. Runoff from the ensuing persistent heavy rains of June, July, and August had no place to go other than into the streams and river channels

THE FLOOD OF 2001

For many towns along the upper Mississippi River, the 2001 flood brought the second highest water levels on record. The 2001 flood crest exceeded the crests from the 1993 and 1997 flood at most locations. Only the flood of 1965 was worse.

Over the winter of 2000/2001, there was a heavy snow cover up north in southern Wisconsin, northern Iowa, and southern Minnesota. A late, rapid snowmelt with heavy rain, led to the flood. There were actually two flood crests at many locations. The first occurred around April 20 . Additional rain led to a second crest the week of April 29.

The early Spring flood forcasts predicted only minor flooding along the Mississippi. In early April, it became obvious that rapidly warming temperatures and rain would lead to significant flooding. The National Weather Service issued new forcasts calling for near record flooding in many locations, and sandbagging in those areas began.

Flooding also occurred along the Minnesota and St. Croix rivers, both of them flow into the Mississippi. Flooding also occurred along the Red River, which flows north into Canada from Minnesota and North Dakota.

In mid-May, the river has finally dropped below flood stage, after over a month above flood stage. Many towns had built floodwalls or dikes after the 1965 flood so they were spared from major damage to their towns.

THE FLOOD OF 1965

An early freeze in the fall of 1964 which lowered the frost depth deeper than usual.

Significant snowfall in March across the region (300% above normal in east and east central Minnesota).

Below normal temperatures for the last half of March and start of April, preventing the gradual melting and runoff of the snowpack.

Heavy rainfalls in early to mid April, falling upon the snowpack and frozen grounds. With nowhere to go due to the frozen ground, the rain and melted snow quickly found their way into the Mississippi River and its tributaries. This runoff would create the record flood.

According to the ``Great Flood of 1965,'' a special section published by The Argus on May 18, 1965, fast-melting, heavy snows in Minnesota and Wisconsin combined with heavy rains on the crest its entire trip down the river -- brought the river's crest to 22.48 feet, 7.48 feet above flood stage, on April 28. This easily drowned the previous record of 19.4 feet set in 1892.

During April of 1965, the Mississippi, Minnesota, and St. Croix rivers reached record flood stages. Many of these records still stand today

During the 28 days the water level stayed above flood stage, 11,064 people in Rock Island and Scott counties were evacuated from their homes. Many of these people went to shelters set up by local organizations. According to the special section, the Red Cross offered a night's lodging to 14,299 people in Rock Island County alone and served 45,072 meals. While many volunteers and emergency workers were helping the people who had already been hit by the flood, many others were hard at work constructing sandbag walls in an attempt to prevent the high water from doing any more damage.

The flood of 1965 resulted in the construction of the levee from 1970 to 1973. The levee forever changed the appearance of Rock Island’s downtown; buildings were protected but access to the river was limited.

The city of Rock Island alone used about 350,000 sandbags. Many of these were filled and put in place by local students. Almost every high school and college in the Quad-Cities area gave students the chance to help during the flood of 1965. Most high schools excused students to sandbag, and Augustana dismissed classes.

Ed Bauersfeld of Rock Island, a 1965 graduate of Rock Island High School, said that he and ``a bunch of kids did it at Rock Island and out in Milan, sometimes until late in the evening.'' According to Mr. Bauersfeld he divided his sandbagging time between the Rock Island City Garage, where they filled the bags with sand; and the riverfront where they made a line of people and passed the filled bags along until they reached their place on the sandbag wall. According to Jim Braet, another 1965 Rock Island High School graduate, he and many other students started their sandbagging efforts near the Rock Island Boat Club.

After the dike broke there the sandbaggers moved back to the railroad tracks to start a new wall. Debbie Braet, a former Rock Island High School student, sandbagged there. ``While we were building the sandbag wall we could watch the river rising,'' she said.

The flood caused $225 million in damage to public and private properties, with $173 million of that occurring along the main stem of the Mississippi River. Emergency actions and evacuations, based on National Weather Service forecasts, prevented approximately $300 million in additional damage.

Rock Island Argus

THE FLOOD OF 1927

The Great Flood of 1927 was one of the most powerful natural disasters of the 1900s. Following several months of unusually heavy rain during late 1926 and early 1927, the Mississippi River flooded. During the height of the flood, the river was over 80 miles wide at some locations.

In the end, the Flood of 1927 affected an area of 27,000 square miles, about the size of all the New England states combined. Over 130,000 homes were lost and 700,000 people were displaced. 246 flood-related deaths were reported. Property damage was estimated at 350 million dollars, equivalent to approximately 5 billion dollars today.

Illinois Ancestors

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