The Great Flood of 1993 Compared to 2008 - Perspective
My grandmother use to tell me that ‘if I didn’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.’ Keeping that in mind, I’ve held off on commenting on the floods in the Midwest for long enough. I kept thinking that things would get better and I could focus on the positive. (no such luck)
So since I don’t have a single good thing to say about the flooding situation today, I started wondering how this flood compared to the Great Flood of 1993. I did a little research and here is what I found.
When looking back on the last big one, it’s hard (at this point) to draw an exact parallel. The 1993 flood affected 9 states, lasted almost 2 months, and caused roughly $15 to $20 Billion in damage. There were almost 500 counties that were declared disaster areas, including all 99 in Iowa. The conditions were ripe for massive destruction. In early spring 1993 a rapid melt of higher than average winter snows combined with heavy spring and summer rainfall to set up a catastrophic situation. In fact, the flooding persisted through late August 1993 across most key corn production areas.
This year we have a smaller flood impacted area (so far), and reports indicate that the rain would have to continue through July in order to mimic 1993 conditions.
So there it is; the most positive thing I could come up with for this post. “It’s not as bad today as it was then.” –That’s little consolation to our farming friends who have lost their homes, businesses, livestock, crops, community, and equipment. For those of you under water right now, my heart goes out to you. For those of you who are dry, please take a moment to say a prayer for our friends.