1977 — Sep 12-13, Flash Flood, “The Plaza Flood,” esp. Brush Creek, Kansas City, MO–25

— 29 NWS WFO Kansas City/Pleasant Hill, MO. Kansas City Flash Flood of October 4, 1998.*
— 25 Bushnell. “Floods Ravaged Plaza – 40 Years ago this week.” Northeast News, 9-13-2017.
— 25 Ludlum. The American Weather Book. 1982, p. 85.
— 25 Mexico Ledger, MO. “KC Search Continues For Victims of Flood,” Sep 19, 1977, p. 2.
— 25 NOAA. Kansas City Flash Flood of September 12-13, 1977. Dec 1977, p. v.
— 25 USGS. Summary of Significant Floods in…US…PR…VI, 1970 Through 1989. 2008.
— 24 Chillicothe Constitution Tribune, MO. “Flood Death Toll to 24,” Sep 15, 1977, p. 11.
— 23 Ludlum. The American Weather Book. 1982, p. 82.

*Blanchard on the Kansas City, KS/Pleasant Hill, MO, National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office number of 29 deaths: We do not show as part of a range (say 25-29) in our title in that we have not been able to substantiate this number.

Narrative Information

Bushnell, 2017: “….Brush Creek…has flowed quietly through the valley developed in the early 1920s… Soon after the development of the Country Club Plaza as Kansas City’s premier shopping destination, tiny Brush Creek was ‘tamed’ and re-channeled amid much controversy into a concrete trough poured by then-political boss Tom Pendergast’s Ready-Mix Concrete Company. The creek flowed peacefully through the heart of the upscale shopping district, only occasionally rearing its head into what locals called a ‘minor threat.’….

“On the night of September 12, 1977, following two days of heavy rain that had saturated the ground, a wall of water raced eastward along the creek’s channel and bore down on Country Club Plaza businesses and scores of unsuspecting patrons. In a period of minutes, dozens of parked cars were swept away, block after block of shops were ravaged by the flood waters, and millions of dollars of inventory was either immediately destroyed or washed away. In one Plaza restaurant just off Ward Parkway, flood waters surged to over five feet deep in a little over a quarter of an hour. Employees and customers fled, often with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing and what they had in their pockets.

“Witnesses reported a “15- to 20-foot high wall of water” raging along the creek-bed, coming down from State Line toward the swank shopping district at close to 20 miles per hour. The low-lying bridges that spanned the creek at Wornall Road and Ward Parkway and Madison only compounded the flooding by catching all manner of debris in the narrow channel underneath, backing up floodwaters to higher levels than ever before. Logs, debris – even cars – washed from the Plaza-area streets blocked the flood water’s passage under the bridges, creating great snags that tested the bridges superstructure. Floating debris knocked loose natural gas meters and lines from buildings, causing numerous natural gas leaks, some of which sparked explosions that created blazing fireballs throughout the night.

“When the water receded less than 24 hours later, damage assessments began to run into the millions of dollars. The raging torrent had left over 1,000 people homeless, and scores more were missing. Electricity service was knocked out for over 25,000 customers, and over 15,000 homes and businesses lost telephone service for at least two days. The grim final tally included 25 dead and over $100 million in damages….” (Bushnell, Michael. “Floods Ravaged Plaza – 40 Years ago this week.” Northeast News, 9-13-2017.)

Ludlum: “A devastating flash flood struck the Kansas City metropolitan area on September 12-13, 1977, as a result of two heavy rains of six hours’ duration, both coming within a 36-hour period. Each storm cell dropped 6 to 7 in…generally, and in a restricted area rainfall up to 16 in…was measured during the dual storm period. The storms were unique, not only for their huge rainfall totals, but also for their occurrence over the same small area….Hardest hit by the rains and subsequent flash flood was the famous Country Club Shopping Plaza along Brush Creek in southwest Kansas City, Missouri, where flood waters surged through its many boutiques and restaurants. Of the 25 deaths reported, 17 were either drivers of or passengers in automobiles caught in the flood.” (Ludlum. The American Weather Book. 1982, p. 85.)

National Weather Service: “Historically, the flash flood of October 4th, 1998, is the second deadliest flash flood in Kansas City’s history, eclipsed only by the September 11-12, 1977 flash flood that killed 29 people and resulted in over $100 million in property damages that affected the Country Club Plaza.” (NWS WFO Kansas City/Pleasant Hill, MO. Kansas City Flash Flood of October 4, 1998.)

USGS: “On September 12 and 13, two intense storms hit the Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri area within 12 hours of each other and caused severe flooding, especially on Brush Creek which runs through the metropolitan area. The storms both had recurrence intervals of 100 years and produced 6 to 7 in. of rain each (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1977). Total rainfall was as much as 16 in. in some areas of Kansas City. Twenty-five deaths were caused by the floods, and damages were more than $80 million (Hauth and others, 1981 ).” (USGS. Summary of Significant Floods in…US…PR…VI, 1970 Through 1989. 2008.)

Newspapers

Sep 13: “Kansas City (AP) Flash floods spawned by the heaviest recorded rainfall the city’s history took a heavy toll in lives Monday night, and authorities were pumping water from underground parking garages today determine if the toll might go even higher.

“Authorities said 18 persons were confirmed dead in the metropolitan area, but others were missing….

“The main concern today was three underground parking garages in the plush Country Club Plaza shopping area. Water filled the garages—three levels in one of them and at least two levels in the others—and it was not known how many cars were parked there. ‘We have no idea how many cars there are or if there’s anybody in any of them,’ one city official said, adding that pumping operations should be completed sometime today….

“Water reached as high as five feet in tome stores in the Plaza…

“Water from the rampaging Blue River in the east section of the city forced the evacuation of 500 mobile homes at the Heart of America Trailer Court and closed the General Motors auto assembly plant and other industries in the Leeds district.

“More than 150 private boats were called into service early today to rescue persons stranded in their flooded homes and submerged cars. The trailer court, located just west of the Truman Sports Complex, looked like a big lake this morning, with water half-covering many of the mobile homes.

“ ‘Police are checking for possible additional deaths in the cars caught in the wall of water that swept Brush Creek, Ward Parkway and the Plaza shopping area,’ said Frank H. Spink Jr., director of emergency preparedness for the city. Spink said… ‘… we had a six-foot wall of water roaring down Brush Creek above bankful, and it just swept up everything in its path, shoved it aside or rammed its way through.’….

“In the suburb of Leawood, Kan., police discovered the bodies of a middle-aged man and a young child in a late model Mercedes. The car was on its side snagged against a tree. A creek, usually so tame that it had no name, had roared out of its banks to engulf the car.” (Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune. “18 Confirmed Dead–Rain, Floods Take Toll…K…” Sep 13 , 1977, p. 1.)

“The damage was awesome. Preliminary estimates in the metropolitan area showed 65 businesses damaged or destroyed 228 houses, 150 apartments and 500 mobile homes suffering at least some damage….At the height of the storm Monday night, 2,600 had to flee their homes.” (Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune (MO). “Plaza Flood Damaged Described as ‘Awesome’,” 13Sep1977, 10.)

Sep 15: “Kansas City (AP) – The death toll in the Kansas City flash flood rose to 24 today while the damage estimate climbed to $50 million. Twenty-three bodies were found in Kansas City — the latest this morning in a car that had been submerged in a creek. The other body was found in Leavenworth, Kan., about 35 miles to the northwest. The latest victim was found this morning in the back of a wrecked car pulled out of Brush Creek by a crane during recovery operations. Several cars were found in the creek this morning as waters from the Monday night flood continued to recede…

“President Jimmy Carter…declared Jackson, Clay, Platte, Ray and Lafayette counties disaster areas, making residents, small businesses and local governments eligible for lows-cost loans and grants. Damage estimates rose as high as $50 million….The Kansas governor issued a proclamation declaring a state of disaster emergency in 10 northeastern Kansas counties, making them eligible for state aid under the Kansas Disaster plan….

“Four more bodies were discovered Wednesday during clean-up operations, two along a creek bank about l½ miles from the Big Blue River in an area about five miles east of the Plaza. Police said they would search that area again.” (Chillicothe Constitution Tribune (MO). “Flood Death Toll to 24,” Sep 15, 1977, p. 11.)

Sep 19: “Today, 25 are known dead as a result of the rampant flooding that mangled cars, closed stores and ruined homes in the Kansas City area. One of the victims, a woman whose body was too decomposed to identify immediately, was found in Brush Creek in east Kansas City Sunday morning. Two persons are still missing, police said. But they believe one of those may be the unidentified body found Sunday.” (Mexico Ledger, MO. “KC Search Continues For Victims of Flood,” Sep 19, 1977, 2.)

Sources

Bushnell, Michael. “Floods Ravaged Plaza – 40 Years ago this week.” Northeast News, 9-13-2017. Accessed 9-27-2021 at: http://northeastnews.net/pages/floods-ravaged-plaza-40-years-ago-today/

Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune (MO). “18 Confirmed Dead — Rain, Floods Take Toll in K.C.” Sep 13, 1977, 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=116662175

Chillicothe Constitution Tribune, MO. “Flood Death Toll to 24,” Sep 15, 1977, p. 11. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=116662197

City of Kansas City, MO. Emergency Management History (website). “Flood – October 4, 1998. Accessed 1-3-2016 at: http://kcmo.gov/oem/emergency-management-history/

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

Mexico Ledger, MO. “KC Search Continues For Victims of Flood,” Sep 19, 1977, 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=121810929

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Kansas City Flash Flood of September 12-13, 1977 (A Report to the Administrator). Rockville, MD: NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce. December 1977. Accessed 9-27-2021 at: https://www.weather.gov/media/publications/assessments/Kansas%20City%20Flash%20Flood%20September%201977.pdf

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Kansas City/Pleasant Hill, MO. Kansas City Flash Flood of October 4, 1998. Accessed 1-13-2016 at: http://www.weather.gov/eax/event-oct041998

United States Geological Survey. Summary of Significant Floods in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, 1970 Through 1989 (Water-Supply Paper 2502). USGS Kansas Water Science Center, Sep 17, 2008. Accessed 11-12-2016 at: http://ks.water.usgs.gov/pubs/reports/wsp.2502.contents.html#HDR1