Floods

East Dubuque Local Area History Project

	Floods by A. L. and Nate S. 4/27/00
	There are three different kinds of floods that affect our area. First there are rain water floods. It happens when there are heavy rains and the water can’t get to the river. Next there is a river flood. River floods are caused when water reaches to a high-point and floods over the dikes or flood gate. The third type is when they are combined. It happens when the rain water and the river water are both high. Flood control is always an important issue in this area.

	The Rockdale flood was one of the most harmful rain floods in the Dubuque area. Rockdale was a small town two miles south of Dubuque. It was divided by a normally quiet Catfish Creek that flowed into the Mississippi River. On July fourth 1876, a little mist began. It started as a sprinkle and turned into a heavy rain. In less than an hour Catfish Creek overflowed and headed towards Rockdale. The wall of water was estimated to be 20 feet deep and hundreds of feet wide. In the end, Rockdale lost six buildings and several houses. It also washed out the railroad bridge and a dam. Forty-two people died in that flood.

	Another disastrous flash flood happened at Union Park. A heavy downpour collected in the valley and collapsed buildings. People were washed away by a wall of water. Five people were killed.

	There have been many major river floods recorded on the Mississippi River. There were 13 major floods before the flood of ‘93. The damages in those floods ranged from $60 million, in 1978, to $1.1 billion in 1973. The highest record of deaths was 137 people in 1937. The lowest record was 5 deaths in 1978.

	The flood of 1965 was the Mississippi at its worst. It was a combination of river and rain water flood. It crested at 26.81 feet on April 26th 1965. It set a new record, four feet higher than the previous record. The depth of the water was as deep as 7 feet on some streets. Schools closed and the Dubuque Packers playing field was closed for forty-one days. There were 300,000 sandbags filled. Damage was estimated at over $10 million dollars. The damage convinced people to construct a 12 million dollar, five mile flood wall.

	The fall of 1964 had been unusually damp, and it drenched the soil. A quick, deep frost, followed, freezing the waterlogged ground. After the freeze, snow began building up. As much as 40-50 inches of snow fell down over Wisconsin and Minnesota. The cold and snow lasted through March, passing the usual thaw. River levels were high due to heavy snow in Wisconsin and Minnesota. April brought heavy rain. Flood levels were predicted at a record 24 feet. College students, high school students and National Guardsmen helped with sandbagging efforts. The Red Cross was on hand for support.

	The Julien Dubuque Bridge was the only bridge crossing the Mississippi for a long stretch. There had to be sandbags on the sides holding back the water and it was like a tunnel. On April 15, 561 people were evacuated from East Dubuque and 157 people from Dubuque. The high water caused rats to invade Dubuque. Downtown businesses were surrounded by water. Because of the flooding in 1965, flood walls were constructed in Dubuque and East Dubuque.

	The flood of 1993 lasted almost 5 months. It was also known as the deluge. On July 5th the river almost touched the bottom of some Mississippi bridges. There were millions of dollars in damage in saturated farmland, not including ruined roads and houses. IowaÆs capital, Des Moines, was the hardest hit 200 miles away from the river! Lock and Dam No. 11 was shut down for the first time in 18 years. Unfortunately there was one person killed in the tri-state area, a four-year-old named Jill Shaffer. She was sleeping in her camper when a displaced tree crushed the camper. She was from Platteville, Wisconsin. There were 222 counties were announced as federal disaster areas. There was a huge sandbag wall built in Marquette, Iowa. It was 40 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet high. By late June many bridges were being closed, including the bridge connecting Sabula, Iowa, and Savana, Illinois, and even the back road to East Dubuque closed. The U.S. Coast Guard made a 634- mile stretch along the Mississippi was made off-limits to all recreational boating. Retaining walls collapsed along the Mississippi because of high waters. The flood of æ93 was the worst flood in 20 years. It left thousands without electricity and water. By July 11th the waters started to recede and by the 19th, dams were reopened. People pitched in to clean up and fix things and get back to normal.