Flash Flood — New Madrid, Missouri

2011-05-02 to 2011-05-03 · near Bayouville, New Madrid, Missouri

Event narrative

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers activated the New Madrid Floodway by detonating a levee at Birds Point in Mississippi County. The intentional levee breach relieved pressure on levees along the lower Ohio River and portions of the Mississippi River. The blast that opened the levee shattered windows in Mississippi County and rattled windows as far away as Paducah, Kentucky. The flash flood caused by the levee breach was anticipated for days, and evacuations had been completed beforehand. Over 130,000 acres of prime farmland were submerged. Dozens of homes were flooded. A primary national insurer estimated property losses were around 100 million dollars within the floodway. The westward extent of the flash flood was limited by a second set of levees designed to channel the water back toward the Mississippi River. The floodway remained submerged for the remainder of the month.

Wider weather episode

Heavy rainfall in March set the stage for major flooding when record-setting rains fell in April and May. At Cape Girardeau, 31.85 inches of rain fell between March and May. This set the record for the wettest meteorological spring (March through May) and was 68 percent of the normal rainfall for the entire year. The result of all this rain was rapid and dramatic rises on rivers. Record flood crests occurred on some rivers, inundating numerous homes and businesses. There were major impacts to transportation both on land and water. There were numerous closed roads across the region, leading to often lengthy detours. Because of the high water, there were numerous day and nighttime restrictions to barge traffic. Hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland were flooded. Crops were late getting planted.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.5858, -89.2818)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 308034. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.