Great Flood of 1951 - Comparison To Other Big Floods

Comparison To Other Big Floods

Channeling and levee construction have altered how the floods have hit various areas along the Missouri River. Here is a comparison of the three big floods since the early 19th century.

• Great Flood of 1844 - This was the biggest flood of the three in terms of rate of discharge at Westport Landing in Kansas City. It is estimated that 625,000 cubic feet per second (17,700 m³/s) was discharged in the flood. However the crest on July 16, 1844, almost a foot lower than the 1993 flood.
• Great Flood of 1951 - The 1951 flood was the second biggest in terms of rate of discharge at 573,000 cubic feet per second (16,200 m³/s). The 1951 crest on July 14, 1951, was almost two feet (0.6 m) lower than the 1844 flood and three feet (1 m) lower than 1993. However, the flood was the most devastating of all modern floods for Kansas City since its levee system was not built to withstand it. It destroyed the city's stockyards and forced the building of an airport away from the Missouri River bottoms.
• Great Flood of 1993 - The 1993 flood was the highest of any of the three but had the lowest discharge at 541,000 ft³/s (15,300 m³/s). While the 1993 flood had devastating impacts elsewhere, Kansas City survived it relatively well because of levees improvements after the 1951 flood.