1951 — July 11-18, Storms, Flooding, East KS (19), West MO (6), IL (3), OK (1) –28-29

–28-29 Blanchard range, using AP (28) for low-end and our locality breakout for high end (29).

— 44 Associated Press. “Flood Casualty List,” Leavenworth Times, KS. 7-23-1951, p. 2.*
— 41 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 181-182.
— 41 Ludlum. The American Weather Book, 1982, p. 159.
— 29 Blanchard tally from State breakouts below.
— 28 July 11-23. Assoc. Press. “Flood Casualty List,” Leavenworth Times, KS. 7-23-1951, p. 2
–>27 Hutchinson News Herald, KS. “27 Dead as Flood Nears St. Louis.” 7-21-1951, p. 1.
— 26 Rhinelander Daily News, WI. “Man, Mississippi Battle Once Again,” July 19, 1951, 1.
— 24 History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, July 13, 1951. Record-breaking floods…
— 23 KS & MO. Leavenworth Times, KS. “Government Moves to Rush Flood Help.” 7-18-1951, p. 1.
— 19 Lawrence Daily Journal-World, KS. “Estimate damage at $750 Million.” 7-17-1951, p. 1.
— 19 USGS. The 1951 Floods in Kansas Revisited. USGS Fact Sheet 041-01, May 2001.

* “Kansas City, Mo. – (AP) — The mid-west floods now have caused a total of 44 deaths. The Kansas City Army Engineers office yesterday released a list of 16 names of persons who died from flood causes between May 22 and July 7. Since July 11 when the biggest of the recurrent floods swept down on the four-state area of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma, the Associated Press has listed an additional 28 verified flood deaths.”

Summary From State Breakouts Below

Illinois ( 3)
Kansas (19)
Missouri ( 6)
Oklahoma ( 1)

Breakout of Flood-Related Fatalities by State and Locality (where noted)

Illinois ( 3)
–3 Rhinelander Daily News, WI. “Man, Mississippi Battle Once Again,” July 19, 1951, p. 1.
–3 East St. Louis. Drownings; Jack Leon Moore, 11, Charles F. Cox, 12; Daniel Fortman, 14.

Kansas (19)
–19 State. Blanchard tally.
Breakout of Kansas flood-related fatalities by locality (where noted):
— 1 Abilene. Heart attack cleaning flood water from basement; Ted Haney, 70.
— 1 Chanute. Flood-related heart attack; Ray Childs. AP. “Flood Casualty List,” 7-23-1951.
— 3 Ellsworth, July 12. Car goes into flooded creek; Gerald V. Whipple, Mrs. F. W. Venckeleer, daughter Mae.
— 1 Emporia, July 12. Left work in boat; overturned; E. B. Lindmood.
— 1 Halstead, July 14. Drowning; Leroy Wendling, 8.
— 1 Junction City. Drowned, James Harding, 12. AP. “Flood Casualty List,” 7-23-1951.
— 1 Kansas City, KS. Drowned; Mike Misich. AP. “Flood Casualty List,” 7-23-1951.
— 1 Manhattan, July 12. Heart attack in flooded area; Capt. Eugene Duffy.
— 1 Manhattan. Found dead in flood-wrecked house; Mrs. Mabel Doyle.
— 1 Ottawa. Plane crash while searching for flood scattered cattle; Doyle Shoffner.
— 2 Strong City. Drowned; August Howard of Cottonwood Falls; Jack Hawthorne of Eureka.
— 1 Topeka, July 16. Electrocuted in basement; flood water on floor; Mrs. Mary Klamm, 77.
— 4 Toronto area, Verdigris River. Car swept from Highway 54 into the river.

Missouri ( 6)
–6 Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below.
–1 Chester. Electrocuted; George Sutt. AP. “Flood Casualty List,” 7-23-1951.
–1 Creve Couer Lake. Drowned; Alfred R. Can Hoorebeke, of St. Louis.
–2 Kansas City, July 12. Drowned fishing in “rampaging Blue river.” Robert Roy Freeman, 21, Alva Mitchell, 21.
–1 Kansas City. Unidentified African-American man. AP. “Flood Casualty List,” 7-23-1951.
–1 Springfield. Drowned; Leroy Davis, 11. AP. “Flood Casualty List,” 7-23-1951.

Oklahoma ( 1)
–1 Joplin Globe, MO. “3,000 Homeless in Miami Flood…Man Drowns,” July 17, 1951, p. 1.
–1 Miami area. Claude Vanatta. AP. “Flood Casualty List,” Leavenworth Times, KS. 7-23-1951, p. 2.

Narrative Information

History.com: “On this day in 1951, rivers across eastern Kansas crest well above flood stage, causing the greatest destruction from flooding in the midwestern United States to that time. Five-hundred-thousand people were left homeless and 24 people died in the disaster.

“The above-average rainfall began in June and continued through July 13, dumping well over 25 inches on some areas in eastern Kansas. From July 9 to 13, nearly 6 inches of rain fell. The Kansas, Neosho and Verdigris rivers began taking on more water than their normal carrying capacity a couple of days into the storm. As the rain persisted, flooding began all over the region.

“The major towns of Manhattan, Topeka and Lawrence were most affected. The July 13 crest exceeded all previous highs by four to nine feet. Two million acres of farmland were lost to the flood. In addition, the flooding caused fires and explosions in refinery oil tanks on the banks of the Kansas River. Some train passengers traveling through the area were stuck on their trains for nearly four days. In all, $760 million in damages were caused by the flood.

“Following the great 1951 flood, a series of reservoirs and levees were constructed all over the area. In 1993, these were credited with minimizing the damage from another record flood.” (History.com. This Day in History, July 13, 1951. “Record-breaking Floods Hit Kansas.”)

USGS: “The 1951 floods, exceeded only in recorded history by the legendary flood of 1844, primarily affected the Kansas, Marais des Cygnes, Neosho, and Verdigris River Basins in eastern Kansas and the Osage and Missouri River Basins in Missouri. According to the American Red Cross, 19 people were killed, directly or indirectly, and about 1,100 people were injured by the 1951 floods in Kansas and Missouri (U.S. Geological Survey, 1952). The most damaging flooding in 1951, and the event that received the most media attention, occurred along the Kansas River where the cities of Manhattan, Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City sustained extensive damage.

“Total damage from the floods was unprecedented. From the headwaters of the Kansas River to the mouth of the Missouri River at St. Louis, about 2 million acres were flooded, 45,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and 17 major bridges, some of them weighted with locomotives in an attempt to hold them, were washed away. By October of 1951, estimates of the total damage ranged as high as $2.5 billion (Davis, 1953) (about $17 billion in 2000 dollars).

“Within the affected areas, transportation was disrupted as highways and railroads were closed from days to weeks. Damage to municipal water supplies and sewage-treatment works was also extensive. In Kansas, 33 water-supply systems were shut down, requiring that water be brought to the affected communities by tank trucks. At Topeka, the water works were kept in operation thanks to the efforts of as many as 5,000 men at a time that maintained a floodwall during the flood (U.S. Geological Survey, 1952). One of the more unusual damage reports came from Le Roy, Kansas, where the Neosho River had washed caskets from graves at the Le Roy Cemetery.” (Christy, 1987).

“The flood caused significant changes to the affected river and stream channels and the adjacent flood plains. Along the Kansas River, the flooding resulted in substantial bank erosion and channel widening. On the adjoining flood plain, which was submerged to depths of 15 to 20 feet in the vicinity of Lawrence and Topeka, the land surface was scoured to depths of as much as 15 feet in some places and covered by deposits of sand and silt to thicknesses of as much as 4 feet in other places (McCrae, 1954) … Similar changes were noted in the other affected basins…

“The July 1951 floods in Kansas were caused by a storm of unusual size and intensity for the Great Plains. Above-normal precipitation during May and June 1951 caused some major flooding and established conditions favorable for maximum runoff from subsequent precipitation. These conditions included high streamflows, high ground-water levels, and a minimum capacity for the soil to absorb any additional rainfall (U.S. Geological Survey, 1952).

“Then came the great storm of July 9-13, 1951, that was centered near the common divide of the Kansas and Neosho River Basins… Precipitation began during the afternoon of July 9 and continued through the morning of July 10. Following a brief respite, the precipitation began again the evening of July 10 and continued through July 12. Each day was characterized by excessive rainfall during the late afternoon and night with little or no rainfall during the early and mid-afternoon hours. By midnight July 13, almost unprecedented total amounts of rain had fallen since the beginning of the storm. Four areas of particularly excessive rainfall, centered about 27 miles southwest of Manhattan, 36 miles south-southwest of Manhattan, 15 miles southwest of Emporia, and 30 miles west-southwest of Topeka, had total storm amounts of more than 16 inches… (U.S. Geological Survey, 1952).

“In 1951, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operated a network of 96 streamflow-gaging stations in Kansas… Of those 96 stations, 36 recorded the highest flows since the time records began through the year 2000… Most of the record-high flows recorded during the 1951 floods occurred in July, although for a few stations the high flow was recorded in May or June.

“The magnitude of the 1951 flood can be put into perspective by comparing the highest flows recorded in that year with the highest flows recorded for the entire period of station operation. For example, information on the highest annual streamflow has been collected for the Kansas River near Lecompton since 1891…. the 1951 flood at Lecompton (with an estimated high flow of 483,000 cubic feet per second) was substantially larger than the high flows recorded for the 1903 and 1993 floods….” (USGS. The 1951 Floods in Kansas Revisited, May 2001.)

Newspaper

July 12: “Topeka (AP) — A growing flood on the Kansas river swept away two bridges here today and was on the verge of still greater havoc as the death toll mounted to 12 persons in Kansas and Missouri. Four spans of the brickyard bridge at the western outskirts, and the Sardou bridge linking North Topeka and suburban Oakland folded into the swirling river this morning…. The river reached 33.46 feet at noon, topping the 1903 mark of 32.70, to wash over dikes protecting Topeka on the south bank, and cutting through two places to inundate north Topeka.

“A paralysis gripped central and eastern Kansas, set up not only by the Kansas river, but by other streams to the south that cut wide swaths….Effects of weeks of floods, particularly the critical days of yesterday and today as the areas absorbed terrific pounding, were beginning to tell. Telegraph and long distance telephone lines failed as pole lines went down and badly jammed communications were further crippled in stricken areas. Two radio stations at Topeka WIBW and KTOP, went off the air because of flooded transmitters….

“Two breaks in the north dike sent water rushing into North Topeka to a depth of 6 feet. The 10,000 residents there were ordered yesterday to leave, but many stayed until the levee actually opened up. The Kansas finally conquered high barrier guarding Topeka, the state’s capital city, spilling and finally pouring over in torrents. Industrial plants, including the John H. Morrell and the Seymour Packing companies, in an eight-block area, were threatened by the spillage.

“The army engineers office at Kansas City estimated damages at $85 million from the present and recent floods along the Kansas and Its tributaries. Trains were stranded. Motorists were marooned. The national guard, air force, marines, coast guard and red cross all joined volunteers in aiding evacuees and paroling dikes….

“Flooding already has inundated large sections of many towns. Ottawa, Council Grove, Manhattan, Marion, Strong City and Florence are among the hardest hit. This was the picture in just one small town — Marion:

“Muddy waters 16 feet deep flowed over 15 blocks of main street. The town’s water supply was cut off. Windows in virtually every building in the business district were shattered. Cows and pigs floated down the streets, occasionally bumping against boats, merchandise and tree limbs….

“Deaths occurred at Ellsworth, Emporia and Manhattan. A car plunged into a flooded creek at Ellsworth, drowning three San Diego, Cal., tourists…. At Emporia, E. V. Lindmood, a meat packinghouse employee drowned when his boat overturned as he was leaving work. Capt. Eugene Duffy, Ft. Riley, died of a heart attack in a flooded area at Manhattan. Two men…were reported missing after their boat capsized on a rescue mission near Strong City….

“In addition to the Kansas, rivers causing severe flooding included the Cottonwood, Neosho, Marais des Cygne.

“The neighboring state of Missouri, which suffered from floods last month, also fought high waters again. At Kansas City, Mo., Robert Roy Freeman, 21, and Alva Mitchell. 21, drowned in the rampaging Blue river while attempting to fish. Two soldiers were killed by lightning and ten others hospitalized during a storm at Fort Leonard Wood in south central Missouri yesterday….”
(Hutchinson News-Herald (KS). “Flood Waters Take New Toll,” July 12, 1951, 1.

Sources

Associated Press. “Flood Casualty List,” Leavenworth Times, KS. 7-23-1951, p. 2. Accessed 4-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/leavenworth-times-jul-23-1951-p-2/

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

History.com. This Day in History, Disaster, July 13, 1951. “Record-Breaking Floods Hit Kansas.” Accessed 12/7/2008 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=07/13&categoryId=disaster

Hutchinson News Herald, KS. “27 Dead as Flood Nears St. Louis.” 7-21-1951, p. 1. Accessed 4-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hutchinson-news-herald-jul-21-1951-p-1/

Hutchinson News-Herald, KS. “At Least Dozen Killed and Damage to Date is at Least $85 Million.” 7-12-1951, p. 1. Accessed 4-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hutchinson-news-herald-jul-12-1951-p-35/

Hutchinson News-Herald, KS. “Cousins Drown on Same Day.” 7-18-1951, p. 3. Accessed 4-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hutchinson-news-herald-jul-18-1951-p-35/

Hutchinson News-Herald, KS. “Four Drown in Verdigris.” 7-12-1951, p. 1. Accessed 4-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hutchinson-news-herald-jul-12-1951-p-35/

Hutchinson News-Herald, KS. “Kaw-Missouri Crest Is Gone.” 7-16-1951, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=137512267

Joplin Globe, MO. “3,000 Homeless in Miami Flood; One Man Drowns,” July 17, 1951, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=1866123

Lawrence Daily Journal-World, KS. “Estimate damage at $750 Million.” 7-17-1951, p. 1. Accessed 4-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lawrence-daily-journal-world-jul-17-1951-p-1/

Leavenworth Times, KS. “First Topeka Flood Death.” 7-17-1951, p. 1. Accessed 4-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/leavenworth-times-jul-17-1951-p-1/

Leavenworth Times, KS. “Government Moves to Rush Flood Help.” 7-18-1951, p. 1. Accessed 4-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/leavenworth-times-jul-18-1951-p-1/

Ludlum, David M. The American Weather Book. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1982.

Rhinelander Daily News, WI. “Man, Mississippi Battle Once Again,” 7-19-1951, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=126944541

Salina Journal, KS. “District Deaths,” 7-22-1951, p. 9. Accessed 4-28-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/salina-journal-jul-22-1951-p-9/

United States Geological Survey (Kyle E. Juracek, Charles A. Perry, and James E. Putnam). The 1951 Floods in Kansas Revisited. Lawrence, KS: Kansas Water Science Center, USGS Fact Sheet 041-01, May 2001. Accessed 11-30-2012 at: http://ks.water.usgs.gov/pubs/fact-sheets/fs.041-01.html