The Great Mississippi and the 1993 Missouri Flood of 1993 (or " Great Flood of 1993 ") occurred in the Midwest, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, May to October 1993. The floods were among the most expensive and terrible ever in the United States, with $ 15 billion damage. The hydrographic basin affects over 745 miles (1,199 km) in length and 435 miles (700 km) in width, totaling about 320,000 square miles (830,000 km 2 ). In this zone, the flood area reaches about 30,000 square miles (78,000 km 2 ) and is the worst such disaster since the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, measured by duration,. , plant and property damage, and number of river levels recorded. In some categories, the 1993 flood even surpassed the floods of 1927, at the greatest flood ever recorded in Mississippi.
Video Great Flood of 1993
Cause and development
Above average rainfall and below-average temperatures beginning in the summer of 1992 resulted in levels of moisture and reservoirs above normal soil in the Missouri River valley and the Mississippi River Valley. This weather pattern persists throughout the next fall. During the winter of 1992-1993, the region experienced heavy snowfall. This condition is followed by a continuous spring weather pattern that produces storms over the same location. The soil in most of the affected areas is saturated on June 1, with additional rainfall all flowing into rivers and streams instead of soaking into the ground. This wet weather condition is in stark contrast to the drought and heat waves experienced in the southeastern United States.
Storms, constantly and repeatedly in nature during the late spring and summer, bombard the Upper Midwest with huge rainfall. The eastern half of Iowa received as much as 48 inches (120 cm) of rain between April 1 and August 31, 1993, and much of the area on the north-central plains had a rainfall of 400-750% above normal. In the area of ​​the National Weather Service forecast Louis (NWS) covering eastern Missouri and southwest Illinois, 36 point estimates rose above the flood stage, and 20 river level records were damaged. The 1993 flood broke the river level record set during the 1973 Mississippi and Missouri River floods of 1951.
The Civil Air Patrol crew from 21 states serve over 5,000 meals for flood victims and volunteers, and their pilots cut more than 1,500 hours in the air to inspect power lines and pipelines.
More than 1,000 warnings and flood statements, five times more normal, are issued to notify public officials and need to know about river levels. In places like St. Louis, the river level is nearly 20 feet (6 m) above the flood stage, the highest ever recorded there in 228 years. The 52-foot (16 m) -high St. Louis Floodwall, built to handle the flood volume of 1844, was able to keep the 1993 flood out by more than two feet (0.6 m) for the reserve. This flood wall was built in the 1960s, into a major controversy, from an interlocking precast concrete block. Had it been violated, the entire downtown St. Louis will be submerged.
Emergency officials estimate that almost all of the 700 privately constructed farm dikes are ruled or destroyed along the Missouri River. Navigation on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers has been closed since the beginning of July resulting in a loss of $ 2 million (1993) per day in trading.
An Illinois man, James Scott, 23 at the time, was formally convicted of "accidentally causing disaster" and was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in causing some flooding across the river from Quincy, Illinois. In an effort to weave his wife on the other side of the river so that he could keep partying, Scott pulled out some sandbags from the dikes holding back the water. The violations were flooding 14,000 hectares of farmland, destroying buildings, and closing bridges.
May
The Redwood River in Minnesota began to experience massive flooding in May. On May 22, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, received 7.5 inches (190 mm) of rain within three hours. From May to July, Sioux Falls, South Dakota received 22.55 inches (573 mm) of rain, the wettest three-month period in its history.
June
As mentioned above, rain in South Dakota contributes to downstream flooding. In June, floods occurred along the Black River in Wisconsin, with flooding also beginning to occur along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Kansas rivers. Beginning as early as 7 June, reports of overtopped dikes and embankment breaks became common. This violation acts to delay the flood, temporarily store the excess water in adjacent lowlands, but the rain continues to fall.
In early June, the Missouri and Mississippi rivers declined below the stage of flooding and receding. During the second week of June, the river level rises to near the flood stage before resuming a slow recession. At the end of June, the Mississippi River is four feet (1.2 m) below the flooded surface at St. Louis, while many other river locations in the area are near the flood stage. Average monthly rainfall of an inch (25 mm) above normal in Kansas City, up to nearly four inches (100 mm) above normal in Springfield, Missouri.
July
July brought torrential rains to Missouri and the upper Mississippi River valley in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Illinois, and Minnesota. Rainfall of 5 to 7 inches (125 to 175 mm) in 24 hours is common. Average monthly rainfall of an inch (25 mm) above normal in St. Petersburg. Louis and Springfield, up to between six and seven inches (150 to 175 mm) above normal at Columbia and Kansas City, Missouri.
From July 11 to July 22, the Des Moines Water Treatment Facility is flooded by the Raccoon River. This resulted in a power plant dies, unable to provide running water for the period. During this time, the National Guard of the Army and the American Red Cross established a water station, and local distributor Anheuser-Busch donated six packs of water with their logo on it. Once the water flows back, there is enough pressure for people to bathe and flush the toilet, but the water is not certified to drink until July 29th. The final usage restrictions were lifted in August.
The main activities of sandbags occur along the higher Missouri River, River des Peres in St. Louis. Louis, Mississippi River in south St. Louis, and in many other tributaries throughout Missouri and Illinois. Some of these efforts succeed, while others do not. Heavy rains during July sent a record-breaking peak in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, causing river gauges to break down along the way. The record peaks meet within a few days of each other at their meeting near St. Louis. Navigation on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers closed in early July, resulting in a loss of $ 2 million (1993) per day in trading.
The Mississippi River level was stable for several days at the April 1973 record stage. When the peak of the Missouri River arrived, the level rose again. The Mississippi River breached the dikes, pushing people and their possessions to higher ground, and causing havoc through the floodplains.
The summits, now merged into one, move downstream through St. Louis was en route to the Upper Mississippi meeting with the Ohio River in Cairo, Illinois. Only minor floods that occur under Cairo due to lower Mississippi ducts below that point, as well as drought conditions in the eastern US If the Ohio River watershed has not suffered a drought while Missouri and Upper Mississippi are in flood, the 1993 flood may have rivaled the 1927 flood in total destruction in Lower Mississippi, outside of Cairo.
August
On August 1, the dividing levee near Columbia, Illinois, flooded 47,000 acres (190 × km 2), flooded the cities of Illinois, Valmeyer and Fults. The released water continues to flow parallel to the river, approaching the embankment that protects Prairie du Rocher and the historic Fort de Chartres. On August 3, officials decided to break through the stronger Mississippi River dike to allow water back into the river. The plan was successful and historic areas have been rescued, although some residential areas were flooded in the region above Prairie du Rocher.
Mississippi River in St. John's Louis reached 49.6 feet (15.1 m) on August 1, nearly 20 feet (6 m) above the flooded surface. It has a peak flow rate of 1,080,000 ftÃ,³/s (30,600 mÃ,³/s). At this level, a bowl of Busch Memorial Stadium st. Louis will be filled to full in 70 seconds.
Maps Great Flood of 1993
Cost and damage
Several locations on the Mississippi River flooded nearly 200 days, while various regimens by Missouri approached 100 days of flooding. In Mississippi, Grafton, Illinois, recorded floods for 195 days, Clarksville, Missouri, for 187 days, Winfield, Missouri, for 183 days, Hannibal, Missouri, for 174 days, and Quincy, Illinois, for 152 days. The Missouri River is over 62 days of flooding in Jefferson City, Missouri, 77 days in Hermann, Missouri, and for 94 days in St. Louis. Charles in metropolitan St. Louis. On October 7, 103 days after the flood began, the Mississippi River at St. Louis finally descended below the flooded surface. About 100,000 homes were destroyed by floods, 15 million acres (60,000 km²) of submerged farmland, and the entire town of Valmeyer, Illinois, and Rhineland, Missouri, were moved to higher ground. Floods swallowed 32 lives officially; However, targets are more likely to be estimated at about 50 people, as well as about $ 15-20 billion in damage. Even after the water runs out, a large amount of sand still covers farmland and houses.
Comparison with other colossal floods in Kansas City
Distribution and embankment construction changes how floods affect different areas along the Missouri River. Here is a comparison of Kansas City data for three major floods since the beginning of the 19th century.
- The Great Flood of 1844 - This is the third largest flood in terms of discharge rates at Westport Landing in Kansas City. It is estimated that 625,000 cubic feet per second (17,700 mÃ,³/dt) is discharged in the flood. However, the emblem on July 16, 1844, was almost a foot (0.3 m) lower than the 1993 flood.
- The Great Flood of 1951 - The 1951 flood was the second largest in terms of discharge rates at 573,000 cubic feet (16,200 mÃ,³/dt). The peak of 1951 on July 14, 1951, nearly two feet (0.6 m) lower than 1844 floods and three feet (1 m) lower than 1993. However, flooding is the most devastating of all modern floods to Kansas City since the embankment system not built to hold it. It destroyed Kansas City Stockyard and caused Kansas City to build Kansas City International Airport away from the Missouri River base to replace the heavily damaged Fairfax Airport in Kansas City, Kansas.
- The Great Flood of 1993 - The 1993 flood was the highest among the three others but had the lowest discharge at 541,000 cubic feet (15,300 mÃ,³/dt). While the 1993 flood had a devastating impact elsewhere, Kansas City survived relatively well because of the dike repair after the 1951 flood.
References
Further reading
- Stanley Changnon, 1993 Great Flood: Cause, Impact, and Response, Westview, 1996. ISBNÃ, 0-8133-2619-2
External links
Media related to Great Flood of 1993 on Wikimedia Commons
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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