GEOL 118 Lecture Notes - Lecture 38: Prairie Du Rocher, Illinois, Valmeyer, Illinois, 100-Year Flood
10 May 2016
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Geol 118 - lecture 38 - floods iv. During summer of 1993, record floods plagued upper part of mississippi river. Worst flood disaster in us history (weather records begun in mid 1800s) 1993 mississippi flood was truly great in terms of area affected, number of rivers which recorded record stage and discharge, amount of damage, flood duration (weeks to months) High rainfall over large area for 6 month period before flooding, then many intense rainstorms in june, july, august (5-30 cm in 1 day) Stationary front over midwest, warm moist gulf of mexico air mixed with cold canadian air. Worst hit areas were iowa, missouri, illinois. 46 stations recorded > 100 year flood. 82% of those built by us army corps of engineers held. Only 22% built by local communities held. Damage to agricultural land (sand eroded from river channel, deposited over crops in floodplain, and massive soil erosion)
