Wednesday, December 12, 2012

1993 Flood Overview


The start of this flood began in 1993, when above average rainfall persisted for months. This rainfall left the ground over saturated  which is perfect conditions for floods. Along with the saturated ground, the lack of sunlight helped create the flood. Without enough sunlight, the water that was already on the ground was unable to become evaporated. Finally, delayed uptake of water from plants also caused this flood.  The over saturated ground that was already present continued to become a problem as intense flash-floods created storms. These storms persisted for months which only continued to create water problems. As rivers began to overflow, water had no other place to go than the land. The water first effected places closest to the Mississippi and Missouri River than the water continued to spread inland and to other rivers and tributaries.  Along the way, the floods ruined lots of infrastructure and ruined many homes. Overall the flood affected over 23 million acres of land in the Midwest.  This powerful flood led to over $26.7 billion dollars in damage and at least 48 deaths. 


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