Floods in California

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All types of floods can occur in California, though 90% are caused by riverine flooding [1]. Such flooding generally occurs as a result of excessive rainfall, excessive snowmelt, excessive runoff, levee failure or a combination of these sources. Below is a list of flood events that were of significant impact to California.

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[edit] December 1861 - January 1862: California's Great Flood

Beginning on December 24, 1861, it rained for almost four weeks. The largest flood in California's recorded history occurred from January 9-12, 1862. The entire Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys were inundated for an extent of 250-300 milfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffddddddddddddddssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssses, averaging 20 miles (32 km) in breadth. The rain created an inland sea in Orange County, lasting about three weeks with water standing four feet deep up to four miles (6 km) from the river. [1]

[edit] From 1900 to 1949

[edit] 1906: California Flood

A storm in late 1906 reported highest ever rainfalls in a southeast to northwest direction from Monterey to Ione in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Three-hundred thousand acres were flooded in the Sacramento Valley. [1]

[edit] 1909: California Flood

The storm extended from Fort Ross on the coast to the Feather River basin. LaPorte, in the Feather River basin, had 57.41 inches (1,458 mm) of rain in 20 days, an event with a return period of 12,000 years. The flood episodes of 1907 and 1909 in California resulted in an overhaul of planned statewide flood control designs. [1]

[edit] February 1937: Santa Ana, California Flood

The storm of February 4-7, 1937 resulted in the highest four day rainfall totals at several stations in the Santa Ana River basin. The Riverside north station had over eight inches (203 mm) of rain in that four days, which equaled a 450-year event. [1]

[edit] December 1937: Northeast California Flood

The storm of December 1937 was a high elevation event in the Northeast corner of the state. [1]

[edit] From 1950 to 1999

[edit] December 1955: California Flood

The storm affected the Central Sierra and South Bay areas. The Eel River on the North Coast saw the greatest flow of record to that time while Central Valley rivers saw near record flows. A statewide disaster was declared, though the storm resulted in 74 deaths and $200 million in economic losses. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall was recorded on December 20th, when 15.34 inches (390 mm) fell in Shasta County. [1]

[edit] October 1962: California Flood

The Columbus Day storm brought high winds and record breaking rains. Rains fell from Oakland to Alturas with record setting three-day rainfall for Lake Spaulding of 23.05 inches (585 mm). One hundred seventy-four gage stations recorded their highest three day rainfall totals to that time. The storm caused $4 million in damages. [1]

[edit] March 1964: North Coast California Tsunami

An Alaskan rarthquake caused a tsunami in March 1964, which completely devastated several North Coast towns which resulted in 14 deaths and an economic loss of $14 million in Del Norte County alone. [1]

[edit] December 1964: California Flood

The six days from December 19-24, 1964 were the wettest ever recorded at many stations on the North Coast. Every major stream in the North Coast produced new high values of extreme peak flows. Thirty-four California counties were declared disaster areas. [1]

[edit] February 1986: Northern California and Western Nevada Floods

On February 11, a vigorous low pressure system drifted east out of the Pacific, creating a pineapple express [3] that lasted through February 24 unleashing unprecedented amounts of rain on Northern California and Western Nevada. [4] The nine day storm over California constituted half of the average annual rainfall for the year. [1] Record flooding occurred in three streams that drain to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay area. [4] Extensive flooding occurred in Napa and Russian Rivers. Napa, north of San Francisco recorded their worst flood to this time [5] while nearby Calistoga recorded 29 inches (740 mm) of rain in 10 days creating a once-in-a-thousand-year rainfall event. [3] Records for 24 hour rain events were reported in the Central Valley and in the Sierra. One thousand-year rainfalls were recorded in the Sierras. [1] The heaviest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded in the Central Valley at 17.60 inches occurred on February 17 at Four Trees in the Feather River basin. [3] In Sacramento, nearly 10 inches (250 mm) of rain fell in an 11-day period. [1] System breaks in the Sacramento River basin included disastrous levee breaks in the Olivehurst and Linda area on the Feather River. [1] Linda, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Sacramento, was devastated after the levee broke on the Yuba River's south fork, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. [6] In the San Joaquin River basin and the Delta, levees break along the Mokelumne River caused flooding in the community of Thornton and the inundation of four Delta islands. [1] Lake Tahoe rose 6 inches (150 mm) as a result of high inflow. [4] The California flood resulted in 13 deaths, 50,000 people were evacuated and over $400 million in property damage. [1] Three thousand residents of Linda joined in a class action lawsuit, Paterno v. State of California, which eventually reached the California Supreme Court in 2004. The California high court affirmed the District Court of Appeal's decision that said California was liable for millions of dollars in damages. [6]

[edit] January and March 1995: California Flood

During the events of January and March 1995, over 100 stations recorded their greatest 1-day rainfalls in that station’s history. The major brunt of the January storms hit the Sacramento River Basin and resulted in small stream flooding primarily due to storm drainage system failures, though flooding affected nearly every part of the state. The Salinas River exceeded its previous measured record crest by more than four feet, which was within a foot or two of the reputed crest of the legendary 1862 flood. The Napa River set a new peak record with the Russian and Pajaro Rivers approached their record peaks. Twenty-eight people were killed and the flood cost $1.8 billion. [1]

[edit] New Year's Day 1997: Northern California Flood

A series of tropical storms collectively called a pineapple connection, hit northern California from late December 1996 to early January 1997. [1] December 1996 was one of the wettest Decembers on record. [1] The Klamath River on California's North Coast experienced significant flooding which led to the river permanently changing course in some areas. [7] The Klamath National Forest experienced its worst flood since 1974. [7] Unprecedented flows from rain surged into the Feather River basin while melted snow surged into the San Joaquin River basin. [7] Rain fell at elevations up to 11,000 feet/3374 meters, prompting snow melt. [7] With these warm weather storms generally comes large amounts of snow melt. [1] The Cosumnes River, a tributary to the San Joaquin River bore the brunt of the flooding. [7] Sacramento is spared though levee failures flood Olivehurst, Arboga, Wilton, Manteca, and Modesto. [8] Massive landslides in the Eldorado National Forest east of Sacramento closed Highway 50. [7] Damages totaled US$35 million (1997 dollars). [7] Watersheds in the Sierra Nevada were already saturated by the time three subtropical storms added more than 30 inches (760 mm) of rain in late December 1996 and early January 1997. [1] Levee failures due to breaks or overtopping in the Sacramento River Basin resulted in extensive damages. [1] In the San Joaquin River Basin, dozens of levees failed throughout the river system and produced widespread flooding. [1] The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta also experienced several levee breaks and levee overtopping. [1] Forty-eight counties were declared disaster areas, including all 46 counties in northern California. [1] Over 23,000 homes and businesses, agricultural lands, bridges, roads and flood management infrastructures – valued at about $2 billion – were damaged. Nine people were killed and 120,000 people were evacuated from their homes. [1] Three hundred square miles were flooded, including the Yosemite Valley, which flooded for the first time since 1861-62. [1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Historic Rainstorms in California. California Department of Water Resources. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
  2. ^ Strike-through text
  3. ^ a b c 1986 Flood Disaster. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  4. ^ a b c Summary of Significant Floods in the United States, 1986. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Kansas Water Science Center. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  5. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napa_River_flood_of_1986
  6. ^ a b 1986 Flood Victims To Get Millions. KCRA 3. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Aftermath of the 1997 Flood: Summary of a Workshop
  8. ^ Sacramento Flood Risk. Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA). Retrieved on 2007-10-22.

[edit] See also

[edit] Related links