UPCOMING TALK: “‘Deity and Disaster’: From the Great Easter 1913 Flood to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria” will explore how pastors in March 1913 sought to draw lessons from Ohio’s/Indiana’s/Nebraska’s deadliest tornadoes and floods, as well as how modern theologians have tried to make sense of the September 2017 calamities in Texas and Puerto Rico. (no reservations needed, no admission charge; DETAILS HERE)
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| This gif looks of approximately the right era
for the 1913 flood, but the actual year or flood is not stated. Credit: GIPHY |
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| Damages from 2017’s natural disasters approached
$400 billion. Credit: Javier Zarracina/Vox |
February: Decaying dams
Rainfall heavier than that in a century
deluged California, ending the years-long dry spell (although not the overall long-term
trend toward drought) with floods and mudslides. So fast and hard did the rains
fall that California’s Oroville Dam—highest in the nation—nearly overtopped,
forcing use of the emergency spillway. But the torrents of water were so
forceful they damaged the spillway, forcing evacuation of nearly 200,000 people
from the town of Oroville below the dam in case the dam gave way. This close call
at such a large dam was a major wake-up call to the rest of the nation, because California’s
dam infrastructure is far better
maintained than that in most other states (see “Brink of Disaster?”
and “Brink of Failure?”)
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| EF-3 tornado near Washburn, Illinois, on
February 28—one of several EF-3 tornadoes that formed during the same outbreak with the violent EF-4. Credit: Cameron Nixon |
Tornado outbreaks
2017 was one of the most active years
for tornadoes since systematic records began to be kept in 1950, especially
during the first quarter of any year. More than 1,500 tornadoes were reported
in the U.S., of which nearly 1,400 were confirmed.
Nationwide, they wreaked more than $5 billion in damage and collectively
claimed 38 lives. Two of the most severe outbreaks were February 28–March 1
when 72 tornadoes spun up in just over 23 hours, including a violent EF-4 that
traveled more than 50 miles from Perryville, Missouri, to near Christopher,
Illinois. A week later, another 63 tornadoes afflicted nearly the same area during
9 hours on March 6–7.
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| Tally of costs of natural disasters in the U.S.
(billions of dollars) shows that Hurricane Harvey blasted past Katrina as the nation’s most expensive. Because this chart was compiled in September 2017, it does not yet include the costs of Hurricane Maria to Puerto Rico and elsewhere; Maria likely would fall between Irma and Katrina. Credit: Statista |
Harvey, Irma, Maria
According to Statista, which serves
the insurance industry, 2017 was the nation’s most expensive year for natural
disasters. The damages from Hurricane Harvey dwarfed those from Hurricane
Katrina, the previous record-setter—and thus also the damages from 1913, since
1913 likely edged out Katrina (see “Like A War Zone”). Indeed, after adding in disasters in Asia, Mexico, and elsewhere around the
world, globally speaking, 2017 was the third most expensive year on record.
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| Portion of I-10 in Texas during Hurricane Harvey. Credit: Getty Images/Vox |
Since Hurricane Maria slammed into
Puerto Rico in September, power to about half the American citizens there has been
restored, with estimates that others may not be able to turn on the lights
until May.
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| Hurricane Irma raging in the Brickell
neighborhood of Miami. Credit: Stephen Yang, Reuters |
Lost in all the noise were some other
amazing records set on a somewhat smaller scale—such as the record rainfalls in
Missouri, Arkansas, and other states that dumped up to 12 inches of rain in 48
hours on April 28–30.
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| Damaged houses in Cataño after Puerto Rico was slammed by Hurricane Maria. Credit: Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images in The Wall Street Journal |
And the National Flood Insurance
Program, which expired on September 30 but has been given several short
extensions, has yet to be put on a permanent footing: Congress has until January 19, 2018 to act.
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| Record-breaking intense rain fell over some
areas afflicted by the 1913 flood—in some places dumping up to 12 inches in 48 hours. Credit: National Weather Service |
Get thee behind us, 2017. With hopes
that 2018 may be kinder and gentler to all…
©2018 Trudy E. Bell
Next time: 'Christ and Calamity'
PERSONAL NOTE: I am working on a major book project unrelated to the 1913 storm system and flood (it is to be a reference on 19th-century U.S. astronomical observatories). Because of the demands of that project, until it is completed, I am able to post installments to this 1913 research blog only about every other month. My long-range goal, however, remains: to write a definitive analysis of the full scale and significance of the 1913 national catastrophe. Please feel free to contact me regarding either project!
