1980 — Feb 13-21, Storms, flooding, mudslides, Central AZ, South-coastal/Baja, CA, UT-37
— 37 Blanchard tally of State breakouts below.[1]
— 36 Indiana Gazette (PA). “Begin Mopping Up in California,” Feb 23, 1980, p. 3.
— 36 Ludlum. The American Weather Book. 1982, p. 82.
— 31 AP. “Broken dams force thousands to flee.” Times-Standard, Eureka, CA, 2-22-1980, 1.
— >30 AP. “Storms bring more flooding, death.” The Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 2-21-1980, p. 1.[2]
— 24 Daily Leader, Pontiac IL. “Mudslides, Floods Ravage CA, UT, AZ,” Feb 19, 1980, p. 6.
— 18 USGS. Summary of Significant Floods in the US, PR, and the VI, 1970-1989. 2008.
— 0 National Climatic Data Center. Storm Events Database. Search Results all AZ events.[3]
— 0 (Flooding) NCDC. Storm Events Database. Search Results for CA all Event Types.
Arizona ( 3)
— 4 Indiana Gazette (PA). “Begin Mopping Up in California,” Feb 23, 1980, p. 3.[4]
— 3 Assoc. Press. “Storm after storm lashes West; 24 die. Chicago Tribune, 2-19-1980, p. 1.[5]
— 3 Daily Leader (Pontiac IL). “Mudslides, Floods Ravage CA, UT, AZ,” Feb 19, 1980, p. 6.
— 3 National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 22, No. 2, February 1980, p. 2.
–1 Oak Creek. “…man was drowned when his rubber raft overturned in Oak Creek.”[6]
–2 Prescott. “Two men drowned when their car was plunged into Granite Creek.”[7]
— 3 USGS/NOAA. Floods of February 1980 in Southern California and Central AZ, 1991, 1.
California (30)
–30 National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 22, No. 2, February 1980, p. 2.[8]
–5 Flash flooding.
–30 National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, San Diego, NOAA. Feb 2010, p. 35.[9]
–30 Blanchard tally of locality and/or cause breakouts below.[10]
–28 Indiana Gazette (PA). “Begin Mopping Up in California,” Feb 23, 1980, p. 3.
–23 Casa Grande Dispatch (AZ). “Stars Convey Glimmer of Hope to CA,” Feb 22, 1980. p.3.
–23 The Press, Riverside, CA. “Storm at a glance.” 2-21-1980, p. 1.[11]
–18 Angel. “Presidentially Declared Major Disaster…Seven Southern [CA] Counties…” 453.[12]
–18 AP. “Storm after storm lashes West; 24 die. Chicago Tribune, 2-19-1980, p. 1.[13]
–18 Daily Leader (Pontiac IL). “Mudslides, Floods Ravage CA, UT, AZ,” Feb 19, 1980, p. 6.
–18 Paulson, et al. “National Water Summary 1988-89–Hydrologic Events and Floods,” 1991.
–18 USGS/NOAA. Floods of February 1980 in Southern California and Central AZ, 1991, 1.
–18 Wahl/Crippen/ Knott. “Floods of January and February 1980 in California.” P. 108, CND.[14]
–18 Blanchard breakout of fatalities by identified localities.
Breakout of California Heavy rain and flooding related deaths, where noted by location or cause.
— 5 Los Angeles County.
–1 Glendora. 22-month-old girl thrown from skidding out-of-control car on wet road.[15]
–1 Malibu Canyon area/hills, Feb 17~. Mudslide through house; female.[16]
–1 Mandeville Canyon, Brentwood area of LA. Mudslide into home buries woman.[17]
–2 Saugus area, San Gabriel Mountains, Feb 17. Plane crash during storm.[18]
— 2 Orange County.
–1 Fullerton, Santa Ana River, Feb 24. Male, 24, in hospital after raft capsized Feb 22.[19]
–1 Fullerton, Santa Ana River, Feb 24. Male, 21; raft overturned after going over drop.[20]
— 10 Riverside County. Press-Enterprise, CA. The Floods of February, Riverside Co., 1980.
–1 El Cerrito, by Feb 18. Woman missing, presumed drowned; swept from vehicle.[21]
–1 Palm Springs area, Feb 17. Woman thrown from car; car hit washed-out road sec.[22]
–1 Wildomar, by Feb 18. Male, 81, drowned in his backyard.[23]
–2 Riverside County prior to Feb 21.[24]
–4 Riverside County (3 deaths in Riverside), Feb 21. Storm-related traffic accidents.[25]
— 1 San Diego County, Feb 21. Drowning. Elderly female fell into floodwater outside home.[26]
Breakout of Fatalities by cause, where identified:
—>10 Driving/walking into flood water. Weber. “Landsliding…Flooding…” P. 328 in CND.[27]
— >5 Feb 14-16. “At least five auto-deaths were attributed to the storm since Thursday.”[28]
— 18 Flooding. Cmt. on Natural Disasters. Storms, Floods…Southern California…1980, p. 14.[29]
— 5 Flash flooding. (NCDC)
Utah (1)
–1 AP. “Storms bring more flooding, death.” The Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 2-21-1980, p. 1.
–1 Indiana Gazette (PA). “Begin Mopping Up in California,” 2-23-1980, p. 3.
–1 Bloomington area, Washington County, Feb 14-22. Female drowned trying to ford stream.[30]
Mexico (Tijuana): (3) [U.S. tourists]
–>9 North Baja California. AP. “Floodwater channel open.” Yuma Daily Sun, 2-25-1980, 9.[31]
— 3 (US tourists). Daily Leader. “Mudslides, Floods Ravage CA, UT, AZ,” 2-19-1980, p. 6.
— 3 “ Indiana Gazette (PA). “Begin Mopping Up in California,” 2-23-1980, p. 3.
Narrative Information
California and Arizona
USGS: “The first significant floods of 1980 occurred February 13 to 21 in southern California and Arizona… The floods were a result of six Pacific storms hitting the Southwest and creating an extended period of rainfall. This extended period of rainfall, not an excessive amount in one storm, caused the severe flooding. The resulting volumes of runoff in many streams south of Los Angeles, California, during February were the highest ever recorded. The 7-day volumes on the Salt and Verde Rivers in Arizona were the second and third highest, respectively, recorded since 1906 (Chin and others, 1991). These excessive volumes caused all the reservoirs in southern California, except Lake Henshaw in San Diego County, to have spillway releases. Seven reservoirs in Arizona on the Salt, Verde, and Agua Fria Rivers had spillway releases. The floods caused 18 deaths and $350 million in damages[32] (Paulson and others, 1991).” (USGS. Summary of Significant Floods in the US, PR, and the VI, 1970-1989. 2008.)
Arizona
NCDC, “Much of State” 13th-21st, Flooding: “Extensive flooding over much of the state was the result of prolonged very heavy rain produced by a series of large storm systems from the Pacific with very moist mild air from the subtropics.
“Rainfall amounts varied from 1 to 3 inches in the extreme south, extreme west and the Northeast Plateau to 3 to 12 inches over the Central Basis, Mogollon Rim and White Mountains. The extreme occurred at Crown King in the Bradshaw Mountains with 16.63 inches, which was 0.32 inch short of the all time record monthly amount for Arizona, also set by Crown King in August 1951….
“Severe flooding occurred along the Salt, Verde and Agua Fria Rivers and along the Gila River below the confluence of the Salt River. Flooding to a lesser degree occurred along the tributaries of these rivers and on the Hassayampa and Little Colorado Rivers.
“With reservoirs nearly full and ground saturated from heavy rains in January, record and near record volumes of water had to be released down the normally dry river beds. The Salt River below Granite Reef Dam and the Agua Fria below Lake Pleasant became raging torrents. The peak flow down the Salt River through the Greater Phoenix Area was 18,000 cfs and this was exceeded only by the great flood of February 1891 when the flow was estimated at 30,000 cfs.
“The greatest flood damage occurred along the Salt River in the Greater Phoenix Area where 11 of the 13 bridges or crossings were destroyed or damaged making the daily flow of tens of thousands of vehicles just short of impossible. Traffic at rush hours was lined up for miles, taking as much as 3 to 6 hours to cross the river. About 3000 feet of the east end of the main runway at Sky Harbor International Airport was under water and severely damaged, as ell as radio and radar facilities. About 600 homes to the west of Phoenix were damaged, many totally destroyed. Around 6000 persons were evacuated. A severed 66 inch sanitary sewer linne serving 500,000 persons was pouring raw sewage into the raging Salt River. There was extensive damage to crops and farm land in western Maricopa County. Utilities suffered considerable destruction as well. Elsewhere over the state, especially over the central section, there was also damage to bridges, roads, utilities and to a lesser degree to homes. Four counties, Maricopa, Gila, Yavapai, and Mohave were declared disaster areas. The Arizona Division of Emergency Services estimated state-wide damage around $60 million with Maricopa County about three-quarters of this amount….
“There were three flood related deaths. Two men died when their car was plunged into Granite Creek at Prescott and one man was drowned when his rubber raft overturned in Oak Creek.” (National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 22, No. 2, February 1980, p. 2.)
Newspapers
Feb 18: “Phoenix, Ariz. (AP) — Heavy rains hit Arizona’s rim country and the Prescott area today as another West Coast storm swept in the threaten renewal of the weekend’s flooding…. ‘Rain was falling even in the White Mountains, where the snowpack is as deep as 50 inches,’…[a] forecaster said, adding that rain on the snowpack ‘could greatly add to runoff’ as the storm continued….” (Associated Press. “Phoenix braces for another big storm,” The Yuma Daily Sun 2-18-1980, p. 1.)
California
NCDC on Southern CA Heavy rains and strong winds, Feb 13-21: Los Angeles County. “A series of 7 storms moved across So. Calif. In 9 consecutive days. The storms lashed with a destructive combination of heavy rain, wind, hail and lightning. The heavy rains caused severe flooding and mudslides. Hundreds of home were destroyed or damaged. Roads were also severely damaged. Five of the 30 deaths were due to flash flooding. The seven storms produced 12.75 inches of rain.” (National Climatic Data Ctr. Storm Data, Vol. 22, No. 2, Feb 1980, p. 2.)
Paulson: “Flood Jan.-Feb. 1980 Central and southern coastal California….Most severe in southern California. Deaths, 18, damage, $350 million.” (Paulson, et al. “National Water Summary 1988-89–Hydrologic Events and Floods…,” 1991.)
Robie: “The winter flooding in California during 1980 resulted in the nation’s taxpayers spending needless dollars on disaster assistance and i n many of California’s citizens suffering personal hardships. To a large extent, damage occurred because of the reluctance of local government to keep people and their property from creating disaster potentials. Flood damage in the nine-county disaster area was largely the result of human carelessness or ignorance in the form of inappropriate activities encroaching onto floodplains.” (Robie, Ronald B. (Director of CA Dept. of Water Resources). “New Approaches to Flood Hazard Mitigation,” p. 457.)
Weber: “At least 10 people were killed when they drove into, or attempted to cross by foot, water that was running too swiftly and too deeply in normally dry places. As in 1978 and 1969, people in dwellings and other buildings were injured or killed when slopes behind gave way suddenly and watery masses of mud, silt, sand, rock, and vegetation crashed into or through the buildings.” (Weber, F. Harold, Jr. “Landsliding and Flooding in Southern California During the Winter of 1979-80.” Pp. 321-331 in Committee on Natural Disasters, NRC. Storms, Floods, and Debris Flows in Southern California and Arizona 1978 and 1980. 1982, p. 328.)
Newspapers
Feb 14: “Heavy downpours drenched Orange County Wednesday when a storm front swept inland from the ocean, dropping more than an inch of rain on the mid-county area, flooding numerous intersections and creating traffic problems. By 11:20 p.m., the storm had dumped 1.48 inches of rain on The Register’s rooftop gauge….” (The Register, Orange County, CA. “Storm Sweeps Into OC With Inch of Rain.” 2-14-1980, p. 1.)
Feb 16: “People, cars, anything that floated, were swept down flood-control channels and along city streets as rain-made lakes formed throughout Southern California in the midst of a three-day storm. A new Pacific storm was expected to throw another punch today. The three-day rainfall left nearly 4½ inches by Friday afternoon [Feb 15], with an additional two to four inches expected to pelt the fire-denuded hillsides by midnight tonight….Some residents were returning to their mobile homes at Beach View Mobile Park in Huntington Beach, where 63 persons were evacuated Wednesday night after a retaining wall broke and sent more than 18 inches of water cascading through the park….No deaths were reported, but two people were hospitalized after being washed from their cars by the rushing water….” (The Register, Orange County, CA. “New Rainstorm Targets Southland.” 2-16-1980, p. 1.)
Feb 18: “Already battered by rain-swollen rivers of mud and water, hundreds of residents in dozens of Southern California cities continued to dig out and protect their property with shovels and sandbags Sunday night [Feb 17] as a new Pacific storm brought more rain….Gale-force winds and lashing rain ravaged norther California for the third day Sunday, leaving thousands temporarily without electrical power, flooding lowlands and threatening San Joaquin River Delta levees….The five days of storms have been responsible for at least seven deaths in the Southland, and two other persons swept away by the currents were reported missing. One woman died after a mudslide ripped through her house, and mud flowed down from the Malibu hills over Pacific Coast Highway and into the backyards of expensive ocean-front property….” (The Register, Orange County, CA. “Southland Girds for New Storm. Emergency Declaration Sought.” 2-18-1980, p. 1.)
Feb 19: “By The Associated Press. Relentless rain drenched Southern California for a seventh straight day, bringing more mudslides and high water that forced thousands of persons from their homes and drove damage estimates into the millions of dollars. Flooding continued in Utah and Arizona. As the rain continued, tourists were urged to avoid the desert Palm Springs area, where 1,000 persons were advised to leave their homes. Amtrak rail travel was interrupted between Los Angeles and San Diego because a bridge had been weakened by the storms.
“By late Monday, at least 24 persons had died because of the weather, including 18 in California, three in Arizona and three American tourists in Tijuana, Mexico, authorities said.
“With a fifth storm predicted for waterlogged California today and a sixth expected late tonight or early Wednesday, thousands of persons were evacuated from areas ravaged by floodwaters and cascading mudslides. Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. was to tour the rain-devastated areas today and sign disaster proclamations for Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. Further requests for government assistance were expected from Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
“A state of emergency declared by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley over the weekend was still in effect. Police remained on 12-hour shifts after all leaves were canceled. By early today, 2.49 inches of rain had fallen on the Los Angeles Civic Center from the latest storm, bringing the season total to 19.40 inches — 9.9 inches above normal for this time of year….
“Gov. Bruce Babbitt asked President Carter on Monday night to declare a large portion of central Arizona a disaster area because of flooding Friday and Saturday….
“In Sacramento, Col. Andy Wolf, chief of public affairs for the guard, said about 18,000 guardsmen can be called to duty if necessary, “but I doubt if they’ll all be used.” Southern California property damage, officially unestimated in many areas, was in the tens of millions of dollars. In Los Angeles County alone, Supervisor Baxter Ward estimated structural and personal property losses were in excess of $20 million.
“Sixty miles northwest of Los Angeles at Point Mugu Naval Air Station, the Navy said 3,000 persons were evacuated after a second wave of floodwaters hit the low-lying missile test center late Sunday and continued through Monday. Another 1,490 persons had either been evacuated or advised to leave their homes throughout Southern California by late Monday.” (Daily Leader (Pontiac IL). “Mudslides, Floods Ravage CA, UT, AZ,” Feb 19, 1980, p. 6.)
Feb 22: “The chain of six storms which swept through the area [So. CA] over a nine day period ending Thursday left 23 persons dead, forced thousands to evacuate their homes and caused property damage of nearly half a billion dollars. More than 6,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Riverside County, and another 2,000 were flooded out in San Diego Thursday after levees broke and dams overflowed in the early morning.
“President Carter declared Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties disaster areas. Santa Barbara .County was added to the list of state disaster areas by Lt. Gov. Mike Curb….Damage estimates in Southern California reached at least $320 million while a state Office of Emergency Services official warned “it will go much, much higher.”
“Los Angeles has received 12.75 inches of rain during the nine-day period ending Thursday, but the previous record for February of 13.56 inches, set in 1884, still held. The season total was more than 21 inches — nearly a foot above normal rainfall at this time and eight inches above what it was last year.
“At mile-high Mt. Wilson above the Los Angeles suburb of Altadena, 30.16 inches fell during the nine-day period.
“Rain-swollen washes from desert mountains flooded several areas in southwestern Riverside County, and in San Diego’s fashionable Mission Valley, hotels, shopping centers and homes were flooded.
“Six major reservoirs in San Diego reached their highest levels since 1941 — including the El Capitan. Officials feared the El Capitan would continue to spill more water into the Mission Valley area, but it rose more slowly than expected and spillage dropped significantly….
“Water was four to five feet deep at the Del Mar fairgrounds just north of San Diego….
“Most of the 6,500 residents of San Jacinto west of Palm Springs were evacuated to community centers after a levee along the raging San Jacinto River burst, said Joanne Lee of the California Department of Forestry. More than 1,000 cubic feet of water per minute poured over the top of Lake Skinner Dam southwest of the town. San Jacinto was inaccessible by road, and mobile homes were reported floating through the community.” (Casa Grande Dispatch (AZ). “Stars Convey Glimmer of Hope to CA,” Feb 22, 1980. p.3.)
Feb 23: “….Thousands have returned home, but others were stranded in the aftermath of the storms that left 36 dead in the West and caused a half-billion dollars in property damage.
“In a desert area in southwest Riverside County, helicopters dropped 11 tons of food and supplies to 100 families still isolated by high water. More than a foot of water swirled through the streets of San Jacinto, although an 18-square block downtown area was reopened Friday night.
“Army engineers were working to patch a break in a major levee that let water from the San Jacinto River gush through the city, forcing nearly all 6,500 residents to flee. But they said it would probably take two more days to plug the leak….
“Santa Barbara County was added to six other Southern California counties declared national disaster areas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Friday….
“In San Diego, where damaged was estimated at $8 million, residents of the Mission Valley district cleaned mud from ground-floor hotel rooms, and about 2,000 people returned to apartment houses….
“Of the deaths reported, 28 were in California, four in Arizona, one in Utah and three in Mexico.” (Indiana Gazette (PA). “Begin Mopping Up in California,” Feb 23, 1980, p. 3.)
Utah
NCDC on Washington and Iron Counties, Feb 14-22, Widespread Flooding: “In southwestern Utah, the counties of Iron and Washington experienced high waters from the 14th to the 22nd of the month on most streams with the Virgin and Santa Clara Rivers flooding in some areas This was due to warm rains on a melting snowpack. Two highway bridges were damaged and closed by water leaving the residential area of Green Valley nearly inaccessible. Much concern existed around the Enterprise area when both reservoirs were full, the lower one spilling over the top and the upper reservoir showing signs of erosion on the backfill. One fatality was reported when a woman drowned trying to ford a stream channel unsuccessfully in the vicinity of Bloomington. Damage was estimated at one million dollars.” (National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 22, No. 2, February 1980, p. 7.)
Sources
Angel, Jacob (Senior Engineer, CA Dept. of Water Resources). “Presidentially Declared Major Disaster for Seven Southern California Counties: The January, February, and March 1980 Storms.” Pp. 453-456 in Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council, and Environmental Quality Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. Storms, Floods, and Debris Flows in Southern California and Arizona 1978 and 1980: Proceedings of a Symposium September 17-18, 1980. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1982, 494 pages.
Associated Press. “Broken dams force thousands to flee.” Times-Standard, Eureka, CA, 2-22-1980, p. 1. Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/eureka-times-standard-feb-22-1980-p-1/?tag
Associated Press. “Floodwater channel open.” The Yuma Daily Sun, 2-25-1980, p. 9. Accessed 6-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/yuma-sun-feb-25-1980-p-9/?tag
Associated Press, Phoenix. “Phoenix braces for another big storm,” The Yuma Daily Sun 2-18-1980, p. 1. Accessed 6-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/yuma-sun-feb-18-1980-p-1/?tag
Associated Press. “Storm after storm lashes West; 24 die. Chicago Tribune, 2-19-1980, p. 1. Accessed 6-22-2017 at: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1980/02/19/page/1/article/storm-after-storm-lashes-west-24-die
Associated Press. “Storms bring more flooding, death.” The Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 2-21-1980, p. 1. Accessed 6-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/yuma-sun-feb-21-1980-p-1/?tag
Casa Grande Dispatch, AZ. “Stars Convey Glimmer of Hope to CA,” 2-22-1980. p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com
Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council, and Environmental Quality Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. Storms, Floods, and Debris Flows in Southern California and Arizona 1978 and 1980: Proceedings of a Symposium September 17-18, 1980. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1982, 494 pages. Accessed 6-19-2017 at: http://authors.library.caltech.edu/481/1/EQL-BLUEBIRDCANYONREPORTS.pdf
Daily Leader, Pontiac, IL. “Mudslides, Floods Ravage California, Utah, Arizona,” 2-19-1980, p. 6. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=89582463
Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Begin Mopping Up in California,” 2-23-1980, p. 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=112058260
Los Angeles Times (Tracy Thomas). “Los Angeles County Mudslides.” 2-25-1993. Accessed 6-21-2017 at: http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-25/local/me-806_1_los-angeles-county
Ludlum, David M. The American Weather Book. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1982.
National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 22, No. 2, February 1980, 9 pages. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA. Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/sd/sd.html?_finish=0.5598874349316176
National Climatic Data Center. Storm Events Database. “Search Results for All Counties in Arizona. All Available Event Types [02/13/1980 to 02/21/1980].” Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=ALL&beginDate_mm=02&beginDate_dd=13&beginDate_yyyy=1980&endDate_mm=02&endDate_dd=21&endDate_yyyy=1980&county=ALL&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=0&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=4%2CARIZONA
National Climatic Data Center. Storm Events Database. “Search Results for All Counties in California. All Available Event Types [02/13/1980 to 02/21/1980].” Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=ALL&beginDate_mm=02&beginDate_dd=13&beginDate_yyyy=1980&endDate_mm=02&endDate_dd=21&endDate_yyyy=1980&county=ALL&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=0&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=6%2CCALIFORNIA
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, San Diego, NOAA. A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California, Organized by Weather Type. Feb 2010, 119 pages. Accessed 6-22-2017 at: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sgx/document/weatherhistory.pdf
Paulson, R.W., E.B. Chase, R.S. Roberts, and D.W. Moody (Compilers). “National Water Summary 1988-89 – Hydrologic Events and Floods and Droughts. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2375; excerpted in Major Floods and Droughts in California (website). 1991. Accessed 10-9-2009 at: http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/hydrology/state_fd/cawater1.html
Press-Enterprise, Riverside, CA. “Damage toll mounts; storms expected through week.” 2-19-1980, B1. Accessed 6-21-2017 at: http://rcflood.org/downloads/General%20Documents/Press%20reduced.pdf
Press-Enterprise, Riverside, CA. “Floodwaters force 150 from homes; more rain due.” 2-18-1980, B1. Accessed 6-21-2017 at: http://rcflood.org/downloads/General%20Documents/Press%20reduced.pdf
Press-Enterprise, Riverside CA. The Floods of February, Riverside County, 1980. Riverside CA: Press Enterprise. Accessed 6-21-2017 at: http://rcflood.org/downloads/General%20Documents/Press%20reduced.pdf
Robie, Ronald B. (Director of CA Dept. of Water Resources). “New Approaches to Flood Hazard Mitigation,” pp. 457-469 in: Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council, and Environmental Quality Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. Storms, Floods, and Debris Flows in Southern California and Arizona 1978 and 1980: Proceedings of a Symposium September 17-18, 1980. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1982, 494 pages.
The Press (Carla Lazzareschi), Riverside, CA. “6,300 flee San Jacinto, desert homes.” 2-21-1980, p. 1. Accessed 6-21-2017 at: http://rcflood.org/downloads/General%20Documents/Press%20reduced.pdf
The Press, Riverside, CA. “Storm at a glance.” 2-21-1980, p. 1. Accessed 6-21-2017 at: http://rcflood.org/downloads/General%20Documents/Press%20reduced.pdf
The Register, Orange County, CA. “6,000 Evacuated in Desert.” 2-22-1980, A5. Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-evening-feb-22-1980-p-44/?tag
The Register, Orange County, CA. “Fullerton Man Drowns in Santa Ana Torrent.” 2-25-1980, A3. Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-evening-feb-25-1980-p-13/?tag
The Register, Orange County, CA. “New Rainstorm Targets Southland.” 2-16-1980, p. 1. Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-evening-feb-16-1980-p-1/?tag
The Register, Orange County, CA. “Southland Girds for New Storm. Emergency Declaration Sought.” 2-18-1980, p. 1. Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-evening-feb-18-1980-p-17/?tag
The Register, Orange County, CA. “Southland Hit by Fifth Day of Rainstorms.” 2-17-1980, A3. Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-evening-feb-17-1980-p-1/?tag
The Register, Orange County, CA. “Storm Sweeps Into OC With Inch of Rain.” 2-14-1980, p. 1. Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-evening-feb-14-1980-p-49/?tag
U.S. Geological Survey and NOAA (E.H. Chin/NOAA, B.N. Aldridge and R.J. Longfield/ USGS). Floods of February 1980 in Southern California and Central Arizona (USGS Professional Paper 1494). Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1991, 135 pages. Accessed 6-18-2017 at: https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1494/report.pdf
U.S. 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
Wahl, Kenneth L., John R. Crippen and James M. Knott. “Floods of January and February 1980 in California.” Pp. 101-129 in Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council. Storms, Floods, and Debris Flows in Southern California and Arizona 1978 and 1980. 1982.
Weber, F. Harold, Jr. “Landsliding and Flooding in Southern California During the Winter of 1979-80.” Pp. 321-331 in Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council. Storms, Floods, and Debris Flows in Southern California and Arizona 1978 and 1980. 1982.
[1] We show 3 for AZ (NCDC); 30 for CA (NCDC and NWS/NOAA; 1 for UT (NDCD) and 3 U.S. tourist deaths in Tijuana when they were swept away by floodwater.
[2] “At least 30 persons have died in California, Utah, Arizona and Mexico since the storms began last week….”
[3] Included only to show that NCDC Storm Events Database is not always reliable. Its basis is the NCDC’s Storm Data. However, not all fatalities noted in the monthly Storm Data, get drawn-up into the Storm Events Database. One is advised always to go to the month/year of interest in Storm Data.
[4] Not using as the death toll in that we can find no substantiation.
[5] In addition, notes “One person was missing in Arizona after being swept from a raft on a flooded creek.”
[6] National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 22, No. 2, February 1980, p. 2.
[7] National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 22, No. 2, February 1980, p. 2.
[8] In that both the NCDC/NOAA and the San Diego Weather Forecast Office of the National Weather Service, NOAA, note 30 deaths we do as well. We conjecture that the figure of 18 CA deaths, sometimes reported as 18 flood deaths and sometimes not, is actually a reference to flood deaths and does not take into account the multiple ways people died during these storm events.
[9] “Six storms hit Southern California….30 killed in widespread floods and mud slides. Post-fire flooding overwhelmed a basin below Harrison Canyon in north San Bernardino four times. Forty homes were damaged or destroyed there. Roads and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged. Mission Valley completely inundated between Friars Rd. and I-8.”
[10] I get to 30 using 18 as number of flood deaths, and adding auto accident, mudslide, rafting accidents, plane crash.
[11] “Fatalities: 23 storm-related deaths in Southern California, several missing.”
[12] “Based on preliminary data provided to the California Office of Emergency Services (OES), the storms in southern California resulted in 18 deaths, 145 injuries, 1,344 homes damaged, 111 homes destroyed, and 282 businesses damaged.”
[13] Notes 18 deaths in CA, three in AZ, and “3 American tourists swept away by floodwaters in Tijuana, Mexico…”
[14] “By the time the storms had ended, eight counties had been declared federal disaster areas and 18 lives had been lost as a result of the storms.” Committee on Natural Disasters, National Research Council. Storms, Floods…
[15] “Lavejon Sellers, a 22-month-old Rubidoux girl [Riverside County], was killed when she was thrown from her father’s car, which veered out of control in rain-drenched Glendora.” (Press-Enterprise, Riverside, CA. “Damage toll mounts; storms expected through week.” 2-19-1980, B1.)
[16] The Register, Orange County, CA. “Southland Girds for New Storm.” 2-18-1980, p. 1. The LA Times notes in its historical review of LA County mudslide, the February 1980 death of a woman “buried in the mud of a creek bed in the Malibu Canyon area.” (Los Angeles Times (Tracy Thomas). “Los Angeles County Mudslides.” 2-25-1993.)
[17] Los Angeles Times (Tracy Thomas). “Los Angeles County Mudslides.” 2-25-1993. [Blanchard note: Mandeville Canyon is several miles east of the Malibu Hills.
[18] “Among the latest victims [of CA storms] were two Burbank residents who were killed when a light plane crashed during a storm Sunday night in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Saugus, Cal. Two persons were seriously injured in the crash.” (Associated Press. “Storm after storm lashes West; 24 die. Chicago Tribune, 2-19-1980, p. 1.)
[19] “Michael Thomas Ashton, 24, of Westminster, died Sunday afternoon in the hospital, where he was taken after a raft…capsized Friday…[after being] sucked into a turbulent ‘drop structure’ in the flood control channel.” (The Register, Orange County, CA. “Fullerton Man Drowns in Santa Ana Torrent.” 2-25-1980, A3.)
[20] “Glenn Murray, 21, of Fullerton, drowned Sunday afternoon after a raft carrying him…plunged over the first concrete flood control drop and overturned…” (The Register, Orange County, CA. “Fullerton Man Drowns in Santa Ana Torrent.” 2-25-1980, A3.)
[21] “Inez Evans, of El Cerrito, believed to have been swept from her blue Honda station wagon on her way to work last Thursday [Feb 14], is still missing.” (Press-Enterprise, Riverside, CA. “Damage toll mounts; storms expected through week.” 2-19-1980, B1.)
[22] Woman identified as Donna Chandler who died at the Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. (Press-Enterprise, Riverside, CA. “Floodwaters force 150 from homes; more rain due.” 2-18-1980, B1.) Notes hers was 3rd Co. death.
[23] Victim identified as Frank Wilson McCain. (Press-Enterprise, Riverside, CA. “Damage toll mounts; storms expected through week.” 2-19-1980, B1.)
[24] The Press, Riverside, CA. “6,300 flee San Jacinto, desert homes.” Riverside, CA, 2-21-1980, p. 1. Article notes 8 weather related accidents but we have already noted El Cerrito and Palm Springs vehicular-related deaths.
[25] “Four persons were killed in Riverside County this morning in storm-related traffic deaths, bringing to eight the number of persons who have died in weather-related accidents since the rains began last week.” The Press (Carla Lazzareschi), Riverside, CA. “6,300 flee San Jacinto, desert homes.” Riverside, CA, 2-21-1980, p. 1.
[26] The Register, Orange County, CA. “6,000 Evacuated in Desert.” 2-22-1980, A5.
[27] “At least 10 people were killed when they drove into, or attempted to cross by foot, water that was running too swiftly and too deeply in normally dry places.”
[28] The Register, Orange County, CA. “Southland Hit by Fifth Day of Rainstorms.” 2-17-1980, A3.
[29] We have read the entire 494 pages of papers on the floods and land/mud-slides. We find not one reference to a specific death. Only in about three places do any of the authors note fatalities (18), doing so differently, as in flood deaths, or deaths due to the storms, or just total deaths. Viewed in context of other reporting we assume that the use of the figure of 18 deaths must refer to drowning. There is no specific information on how, where, when or the circumstances surrounded the deaths. Such information is helpful in trying to mitigate future loss of life.
[30] National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 22, No. 2, February 1980, p. 7.
[31] “Mexican authorities said at least nine people were dead in northern Baja California and 20,000 homeless following the six storms over nine days that deposited 12.75 inches of rain in Los Angeles.”
[32] In USGS and NOAA. Floods of February 1980 in Southern California and Central Arizona, 1991, it is written that “Eighteen people lost their lives in California.” Also notes: “Three people died in the flood in Arizona.” (p. 1)