Photography by Bailey Shelton
It was a sobering moment for Mark Fuchs. A hydrologist for the St. Louis National Weather Service, he released the first flooding forecasts in February. But when he saw the flooding, which began in mid-March, it was different.
“The NWS knows those impacts,” he says, “but then to go out and actually see what you’re talking about, it just kind of brings it home.”
The Mississippi covered Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard, a heartbeat from the Arch. The River Des Peres crept into Lemay. Water submerged parts of Alton, Grafton, Clarksville, and Winfield.
Twenty-six years after the Great Flood of 1993, rivers again washed away homes, roads, and lives. Locally, the levels were barely—0.5 to 4.6 feet—below the ’93 records. As the flooding continues, it’s difficult to estimate the destruction. However, says Don Duncan, deputy chief of engineering and construction for the Army Corps of Engineers’ St. Louis district, “we’re not seeing anywhere near that same damage [as 1993], because the floodplains are being managed better.”
1993 (April–October)
Highest STL Mississippi River crest: 49.58 feet
At the flood’s peak, August 1, 1993, more than 1 million cubic feet of water flowed past the Arch and down the Mississippi each second.
FINANCIAL TOLL:
$15 billion across the Midwest
PEOPLE DISPLACED:
54,000 evacuated across the region; about 50,000 homes damaged or destroyed
2019 (March–press time)
Highest STL Mississippi River crest: 45.93 feet
In St. Louis, the Mississippi has been at or above flood stage (30 feet, the height at which human impact begins) since March 16. It reached its peak of 45.93 feet on June 8. “In 1993, we were at flood stage for 104 consecutive days,” says Duncan. On June 29, the Mississippi hit 105 consecutive days. The 1993 crest also didn’t happen until August 1; this year, it occurred in June, meaning that “there’s still months for us to get more rain.”
FINANCIAL TOLL:
Uncertain but St. Louis city estimates $1.3 million in prevention costs. St. Charles county estimates $30 million.
PROPERTY DAMAGED:
Uncertain but preliminary damage assessments are complete in 41 Missouri counties
2019 Flooding Events: A Closer Look
March 16: The Mississippi River reaches flood stage in St. Louis.
May 24: Two people are found dead in a submerged car in St. Charles County. The Highway Patrol reports that autopsies confirmed drowning as the cause of death.
May 30: Officials close parts of major roads along the river, including Leonor K. Sullivan.
June 1: The Coast Guard closes almost 200 miles of the Mississippi River because of the high water and fast current.
June 3: North of St. Louis in Winfield, the Pin Oak levee fails, and police order residents to evacuate.
June 8: The Mississippi crests at 45.93 feet at St. Louis, the highest measurement since 1993.
June 19: Creve Coeur Lake floods and closes Highway 141.
June 29: The Mississippi River in St. Louis breaks the 1993 record for most consecutive days at flood stage.
