Summary of Flood Activity Since 1990
By: Steven Duggan
The most
significant natural disaster events during the 20th
century in the United
States
were floods. Floods accounted for the greatest number of fatalities and
largest
amount of property damage during that period of time.
Given the various
ways that individuals can report flood
damages, agencies like US Geological Survey (USGS) and National Weather
Service
(NWS) face many challenges in attempting to collect accurate estimates
of such
losses.
The following is a
summary of U.S.
flood activity since 1900, as
reported by the USGS and NWS. The figures have been separated by
decade. The
costs have not been adjusted for inflation.
1900-1910: Oregon
experienced flooding in Willow Creek, killing 225 people but costs were
unknown. A major hurricane hit Galveston,
Texas killing more
than 6,000
people and caused an unreported amount of damage.
1911-1920: A
single significant flooding event took place in Ohio
killing
467 people, causing $143 million in damage, and was a result of heavy
rain.
1921-1930: A major
flood took place on the Mississippi
River, reaching Missouri and down
through Louisiana,
as a result
of excessive discharge. It killed an unknown amount of people, and
caused
approximately $230 million in damage.
1931-1940: A
hurricane hit the northeast section of the United States,
killing 494 people and caused $306 million in damage. Also, rain and
snow
caused the deaths of more than 350 people in New
England,
and resulted in $300 million in losses.
1941-1950: No
significant flooding reported.
1951-1960: Rain in
Kansas
killed 15 people and resulted in $800 million in damage.
1961-1970:
Excessive rain in Colorado
and the Pacific Northwest killed a
total of 71
people and combined for roughly $1 billion worth of damage. Hurricane
Camille
struck the Gulf Coast,
including Mississippi and Louisiana,
killing 259 people and cost $1.4
billion.
1971-1980: Dam
failures in West Virginia, Idaho, and Georgia killed
175 people and caused more than $3.2 billion in damages. Flash floods
caused by
rainfall in South Dakota, Colorado,
and Pennsylvania
killed 459 people, and resulted in $500 million worth of damage. The
remains of
Hurricane Agnes killed 117 people in the Northeast, and cost $3.2
billion.
Flooding as a result of the Mount St. Helens eruption killed 60 people
and
caused an unknown amount of damage in Washington.
1981-1990:
Flooding due to rainfall in Utah, Mississippi, Virginia,
and West Virginia
killed approximately 70 people and caused roughly $1.4 billion worth of
damage.
Flooding was also reported in Arkansas,
Texas, and Oklahoma,
as a result of severe thunderstorms. 17 people were killed and close to
$1
billion in damage was reported.
1991-2000: Flood
events in Arizona, California, Montana,
Ohio, North
Dakota,
the Pacific Northwest, and south-central U.S. resulting from
rainfall and
melting snow killed approximately 210 people and cost more than $40
billion.
Hurricane Floyd killed 42 people in North Carolina and caused $6 billion
in damage.
2001-2003:
Flooding has caused over $10.6 billion in damage,
however data is still being compiled and adjusted for events in this
decade.
Further
Information:
Reanalysis of NWS
Flood Estimates
http://www.flooddamagedata.org/
NWS Flood Losses
Since 1903
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hic/flood_stats/Flood_loss_time_series.htm
USGS Significant 20th
Century Floods
http://ks.water.usgs.gov/pubs/fact-sheets/fs.024-00.html
NWS 2008 National
Hydrologic Assessment
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hic/nho/