Flood — Newton, Texas

2016-03-10 to 2016-03-24 · near Mayflower, Newton, Texas

Event narrative

Prolonged heavy rain on the 9th and 10th pushed Toledo Bend Reservoir to record levels while flooded creeks and streams flowed into the Sabine River. This pushed the river level at Burkeville to a record of 53.82 feet which was 5.77 feet higher than the previous record set in 1999. At Bon Weir the new record set on the 13th was 0.71 feet higher than the previous record set in 1913. At Deweyville the new record set on the 15th was 1 foot higher than the previous record set in 1884. Along the river numerous structures were flooded or in some cases, washed away. The hardest hit town was Deweyville where nearly every structure was flooded to some degree including the schools. County-wide, 458 homes received minor flood damage, 350 had major flood damage, and 500 homes were destroyed by the flood. Ten businesses received major flood damage. At least 60 million dollars is estimated to be the damage totals for homes and businesses, with an additional 26 million dollars for public property.

Wider weather episode

Multiple days of heavy rain fell across the Sabine River Valley causing massive flooding in the basin. Across the Toledo Bend Reservoir rainfall amounts averaged 15 to 20 inches. This pushed the lake level to a record of 174.36 which is several inches higher than the previous record set in 1989. All operational flood gates were fully opened to stabilize and gradually lower the lake level. Two gates were kept shut since maintenance were being performed. An estimated 205,000 cfs was being released at the peak of the event and this produced record flooding at most sites downstream and north of Interstate 10.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.1635, -93.5781)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 625651. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.