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73-433: At its normal level of 836 feet (255 m) above sea level, Saylorville Lake covers an area of 5,950 acres (24 km) or 9.3 square miles (24.1 km) and reaches some 17 miles (27 km) upstream. At full flood stage the lake can reach 16,700 acres (68 km) or 26.1 square miles (67.6 km) and reach 54 miles (87 km) long. At this point any further flow into the lake is channelled over an emergency spillway to

146-446: A decrease below the minimum leading to direct danger for amphibian life), increased pollution of surface water , the drying out of wetlands , more and larger wildfires , higher deflation intensity, loss of biodiversity , worse health of trees and the appearance of pests and dendroid diseases. Drought-induced mortality of trees lacks in most climate models in their representation of forests as land carbon sink . Economic losses as

219-491: A diverse climate, ranging from hot, dry regions to cooler, wetter highland regions. The region has considerable variability in seasonal rainfall and a very complex topography. In the northern parts of the region within the Nile basin (Ethiopia, Sudan), the rainfall is characterized by an unimodal cycle with a wet season from July to September. The rest of the region has a bimodal annual cycle, featuring long rains from March to May and

292-434: A factor which increases the gap between developed and developing countries . Effects vary according to vulnerability. For example, subsistence farmers are more likely to migrate during drought because they do not have alternative food-sources. Areas with populations that depend on water sources as a major food-source are more vulnerable to famine. Further examples of social and health consequences include: Wind erosion

365-498: A high level of reflected sunlight and above average prevalence of high pressure systems , winds carrying continental, rather than oceanic air masses, and ridges of high pressure areas aloft can prevent or restrict the developing of thunderstorm activity or rainfall over one certain region. Once a region is within drought, feedback mechanisms such as local arid air, hot conditions which can promote warm core ridging, and minimal evapotranspiration can worsen drought conditions. Within

438-510: A levee holding back the water. The breach flooded 14,000 acres (57 km ) of farmland, destroyed buildings, and closed a bridge. His conviction was overturned in 1997, but reinstated in 1998. He maintains his innocence behind bars. The Redwood River in Minnesota began experiencing severe flooding in May. On May 22, Sioux Falls, South Dakota , received 7.5 inches (190 mm) of rain in

511-434: A longer duration. Precipitation can be divided into three categories, based on whether it falls as liquid water, liquid water that freezes on contact with the surface, or ice. Droughts occur mainly in areas where normal levels of rainfall are, in themselves, low. If these factors do not support precipitation volumes sufficiently to reach the surface over a sufficient time, the result is a drought. Drought can be triggered by

584-420: A loss of $ 2 million (1993) per day in commerce. James Scott , a 23-year-old Illinois man, was convicted in 1994 for "intentionally causing a catastrophe" and sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in causing some of the flooding across the river from Quincy, Illinois . In an attempt to strand his wife on the other side of the river so he could continue partying, Scott allegedly removed several sandbags from

657-465: A multi-agency partnership, drought is generally defined as "a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time (usually a season or more), resulting in a water shortage". The National Weather Service office of the NOAA defines drought as "a deficiency of moisture that results in adverse impacts on people, animals, or vegetation over a sizeable area". Drought is a complex phenomenon − relating to

730-780: A peak flow rate of 1,080,000 ft /s (30,600 m /s). At this rate, a bowl the size of Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis would be filled to the brim in 70 seconds. Some locations on the Mississippi River flooded for almost 200 days, while various regions by the Missouri neared 100 days of flooding. On the Mississippi, Grafton, Illinois , recorded flooding for 195 days; Clarksville, Missouri , for 187 days; Winfield, Missouri , for 183 days; Hannibal, Missouri , for 174 days; and Quincy, Illinois , for 152 days. The Missouri River

803-606: A result of droughts include lower agricultural, forests, game and fishing output, higher food-production costs, lower energy-production levels in hydro plants, losses caused by depleted water tourism and transport revenue, problems with water supply for the energy sector and for technological processes in metallurgy, mining, the chemical, paper, wood, foodstuff industries etc., disruption of water supplies for municipal economies. Further examples of common environmental and economic consequences of drought include: Droughts can cause land degradation and loss of soil moisture, resulting in

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876-549: A result. This means even regions where overall rainfall is expected to remain relatively stable will experience these impacts. These regions include central and northern Europe. Without climate change mitigation, around one third of land areas are likely to experience moderate or more severe drought by 2100. Due to global warming droughts are more frequent and intense than in the past. Human activity can directly trigger exacerbating factors such as over-farming, excessive irrigation , deforestation , and erosion adversely impact

949-663: A significant role in drought. ENSO comprises two patterns of temperature anomalies in the central Pacific Ocean , known as La Niña and El Niño . La Niña events are generally associated with drier and hotter conditions and further exacerbation of drought in California and the Southwestern United States , and to some extent the U.S. Southeast . Meteorological scientists have observed that La Niñas have become more frequent over time. Conversely, during El Niño events, drier and hotter weather occurs in parts of

1022-570: A single dataset can be limiting, as it may not capture the full spectrum of drought characteristics and impacts. Careful monitoring of moisture levels can also help predict increased risk for wildfires. Mechanisms of producing precipitation include convective , stratiform , and orographic rainfall. Convective processes involve strong vertical motions that can cause the overturning of the atmosphere in that location within an hour and cause heavy precipitation, while stratiform processes involve weaker upward motions and less intense precipitation over

1095-575: A state of disaster for Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri and asked Congress to approve 2.5 billion dollars in Federal disaster relief. During this time the Army National Guard and American Red Cross set up water stations, and the local Anheuser-Busch distributor contributed water in white six-packs with their logo on it. Once running water was restored, there was enough pressure for people to bathe and flush toilets, but

1168-763: A three-hour period. From May through July, Sioux Falls, South Dakota received 22.55 inches (573 mm) of rain, the wettest three-month period in its history. As noted above, rains in South Dakota contributed to flooding downstream. In June, flooding occurred along the Black River in Wisconsin , with flooding also starting to occur along the Mississippi , Missouri , and Kansas rivers . Starting as early as June 7, reports of levees being overtopped and levee breaks became common. These breaches acted to delay

1241-666: A water supply crisis across much of the country. As a result, many desalination plants were built for the first time ( see list ). By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid lands commonly known as the outback . A 2005 study by Australian and American researchers investigated the desertification of the interior, and suggested that one explanation was related to human settlers who arrived about 50,000 years ago. Regular burning by these settlers could have prevented monsoons from reaching interior Australia. In June 2008 it became known that an expert panel had warned of long term, maybe irreversible, severe ecological damage for

1314-496: A widespread blanket deposit that covers areas of hundreds of square kilometers and tens of meters thick. Loess often stands in either steep or vertical faces. Loess tends to develop into highly rich soils. Under appropriate climatic conditions, areas with loess are among the most agriculturally productive in the world. Loess deposits are geologically unstable by nature, and will erode very readily. Therefore, windbreaks (such as big trees and bushes) are often planted by farmers to reduce

1387-718: Is a recurring feature of the climate in most parts of the world, becoming more extreme and less predictable due to climate change , which dendrochronological studies date back to 1900. There are three kinds of drought effects, environmental, economic and social. Environmental effects include the drying of wetlands , more and larger wildfires, loss of biodiversity . Economic impacts of drought result due to negative disruptions to agriculture and livestock farming (causing food insecurity ), forestry, public water supplies , maritime navigation (due to e.g.: lower water levels), electric power supply (by affecting hydropower systems) and impacts on human health. Social and health costs include

1460-426: Is a similar concept to water scarcity . The different categories of droughts have different causes but similar effects: Several indices have been defined to quantify and monitor drought at different spatial and temporal scales. A key property of drought indices is their spatial comparability, and they must be statistically robust. Drought indices include: High-resolution drought information helps to better assess

1533-453: Is also negatively effected by drought stress, the reduction in crop yield results from a decrease in photosynthetic rate, changes in leaf development, and altered allocation of resources all due to drought stress. Crop plants exposed to drought stress suffer from reductions in leaf water potential and transpiration rate. Water-use efficiency increases in crops such as wheat while decreasing in others, such as potatoes. Plants need water for

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1606-477: Is insufficient rainfall to support vegetation. Drought is one of the most complex and major natural hazards , and it has devastating impacts on the environment, economy, water resources, agriculture, and society worldwide. One can divide the impacts of droughts and water shortages into three groups: environmental, economic and social (including health). Environmental effects of droughts include: lower surface and subterranean water-levels, lower flow-levels (with

1679-494: Is much more severe in arid areas and during times of drought. For example, in the Great Plains , it is estimated that soil loss due to wind erosion can be as much as 6100 times greater in drought years than in wet years. Loess is a homogeneous, typically nonstratified, porous, friable , slightly coherent, often calcareous, fine-grained, silty , pale yellow or buff, windblown ( Aeolian ) sediment . It generally occurs as

1752-410: Is related to low runoff, streamflow, and reservoir and groundwater storage. An agricultural or ecological drought is causing plant stress from a combination of evaporation and low soil moisture . Some organizations add another category: socioeconomic drought occurs when the demand for an economic good exceeds supply as a result of a weather-related shortfall in water supply. The socioeconomic drought

1825-493: Is the heterogeneous distribution of hydrologic extremes in space and time. For instance, El Niño can cause droughts in one part of the region and floods in the other. This is also a common situation within a country, e.g., in Ethiopia. The recent years with consecutive droughts followed by floods are a testament to the need to better forecast these kinds of events and their impacts. Approximately 2.4 billion people live in

1898-666: Is thought to have started with the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo . It has been suggested that excess cloud condensation nuclei from the eruption were responsible for the Great Flood of 1993 in the Midwestern United States . Above-normal rainfall and below-normal temperatures beginning in the summer of 1992 resulted in above-normal soil moisture and reservoir levels in the Missouri and Upper Mississippi River basins. This weather pattern persisted throughout

1971-1084: The Amazon River Basin, Colombia , and Central America . Winters during the El Niño are warmer and drier than average conditions in the Northwest, northern Midwest, and northern Mideast United States, so those regions experience reduced snowfalls. Conditions are also drier than normal from December to February in south-central Africa, mainly in Zambia , Zimbabwe , Mozambique , and Botswana . Direct effects of El Niño resulting in drier conditions occur in parts of Southeast Asia and Northern Australia , increasing bush fires , worsening haze , and decreasing air quality dramatically. Drier-than-normal conditions are also in general observed in Queensland , inland Victoria , inland New South Wales , and eastern Tasmania from June to August. As warm water spreads from

2044-527: The Amazon basin , Australia , the Sahel region and India . For example, in 2005, parts of the Amazon basin experienced the worst drought in 100 years. Australia could experience more severe droughts and they could become more frequent in the future, a government-commissioned report said on July 6, 2008. The long Australian Millennial drought broke in 2010. The 2020–2022 Horn of Africa drought has surpassed

2117-514: The St. Louis National Weather Service (NWS) forecast area encompassing eastern Missouri and southwest Illinois , 36 forecast points rose above flood stage , and 20 river-stage records were broken. The 1993 flood broke record river levels set during the 1973 Mississippi and the 1951 Missouri River floods. Civil Air Patrol crews from 21 states served more than 5,000 meals to flood victims and volunteers, and their pilots logged more than 1,500 hours in

2190-508: The drainage basin of the Himalayan rivers. India , China , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Nepal and Myanmar could experience floods followed by droughts in coming decades. More than 150 districts in India are drought vulnerable, mostly concentrated in the state of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and its adjoining Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, northern Karnataka and adjoining Maharashtra of

2263-491: The droughts and heat waves experienced in the southeastern United States. Storms, persistent and repetitive in nature during the late spring and summer, crowded the Upper Midwest with voluminous rainfall. Portions of east-central Iowa received as much as 48 inches (120 cm) of rain between April 1 and August 31, 1993, and many areas across the central-northern plains had precipitation 400–750% above normal. In

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2336-437: The ecosystems and agriculture of affected regions, and causes harm to the local economy . Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing, with subsequent increased wildfire risks. Heat waves can significantly worsen drought conditions by increasing evapotranspiration . This dries out forests and other vegetation, and increases the amount of fuel for wildfires. Drought

2409-518: The Horn of Africa during the period 2020–2023 leading to the third longest and most widespread drought on record with dire implications for food security (see Horn of Africa drought (2020–present) ). Conversely, other parts experienced extreme floods, e.g., the 2020 East Africa floods in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, and Uganda, and the 2022 floods in South Sudan. A key feature in the region

2482-411: The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, causing river gauges to malfunction along the way. The record crests met within days of each other at their confluence near St. Louis. Navigation on the Mississippi and Missouri River was closed in early July, resulting in a loss of $ 2 million (1993) per day in commerce. Mississippi River levels stabilized for a few days at April 1973 record stages. When the crest from

2555-747: The Missouri River arrived, levels rose again. The Mississippi River broke through levees, drove people and their possessions to higher ground, and caused havoc through the floodplains. The crests, now combined as one, moved downstream through St. Louis on the way to the Upper Mississippi's confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois . Only minor flooding occurred below Cairo due to the Lower Mississippi's larger channel below that point, as well as drought conditions in

2628-434: The Missouri River. For example, here is a comparison of flood data at – and associated impacts on – Kansas City for three big floods since the early 19th century. [REDACTED] Media related to Great Flood of 1993 at Wikimedia Commons Drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions. A drought can last for days, months or years. Drought often has large impacts on

2701-478: The ability of the land to capture and hold water. In arid climates, the main source of erosion is wind. Erosion can be the result of material movement by the wind. The wind can cause small particles to be lifted and therefore moved to another region (deflation). Suspended particles within the wind may impact on solid objects causing erosion by abrasion (ecological succession). Wind erosion generally occurs in areas with little or no vegetation, often in areas where there

2774-526: The absence of water − which is difficult to monitor and define. By the early 1980s, over 150 definitions of "drought" had already been published. The range of definitions reflects differences in regions, needs, and disciplinary approaches. There are three major categories of drought based on where in the water cycle the moisture deficit occurs: meteorological drought, hydrological drought, and agricultural or ecological drought. A meteorological drought occurs due to lack of precipitation . A hydrological drought

2847-399: The air inspecting utility lines and pipelines. Over 1,000 flood warnings and statements, five times the normal, were issued to notify the public and need-to-know officials of river levels. In such places as St. Louis, river levels were nearly 20 feet (6.1 m) above flood stage, the highest ever recorded there in 228 years. The 52-foot (16 m)-high St. Louis Floodwall, built to handle

2920-442: The area. Fish species that can be found in the lake include crappie , bluegill , green sunfish , largemouth bass , smallmouth bass , brown trout , northern pike , common carp , white bass , walleye , yellow bass , american eel , flathead catfish , channel catfish , bullheads , and hybrid striped bass . Great Flood of 1993 The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 )

2993-448: The destruction of cropland productivity. This can result in diminished crop growth or yield productions and carrying capacity for livestock . Drought in combination with high levels of grazing pressure can function as the tipping point for an ecosystem, causing woody encroachment . Water stress affects plant development and quality in a variety of ways: firstly drought can cause poor germination and impaired seedling development. At

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3066-553: The eastern U.S. If the Ohio River watershed had not been in drought while the Missouri and Upper Mississippi were in flood, the 1993 flood might have rivaled the 1927 flood in overall damage on the Lower Mississippi, beyond Cairo. On August 1, levee breaks near Columbia, Illinois , flooded 47,000 acres (190 km ) of land, inundating the Illinois towns of Valmeyer and Fults . The released water continued to flow parallel to

3139-470: The flood crests, temporarily storing excess water in the adjacent lowlands, but the rain kept falling. In the beginning of June, the Missouri and Mississippi rivers dropped below flood stage and were receding. During the second week of June, river levels rose to near flood stage before yet again beginning their slow recession. By the end of June, the Mississippi River was four feet (1.2 m) below flood stage at St. Louis , while many other river locations in

3212-505: The flooded area totaled around 30,000 square miles (78,000 km ) and was the worst such U.S. disaster since the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 , as measured by duration, area inundated, persons displaced, crop and property damage, and number of record river levels. In some categories, the 1993 flood even surpassed the 1927 flood, at the time the largest flood ever recorded on the Mississippi River. A volcanic winter

3285-426: The following autumn. During the winter of 1992–93, the region experienced heavy snowfall. These conditions were followed by persistent spring weather patterns that produced storms over the same locations. Soils across much of the affected area were saturated by June 1, with additional rainfall all running off into streams and rivers, instead of soaking into the ground. These wet-weather conditions contrasted sharply with

3358-459: The health of people who are directly exposed to this phenomenon (excessive heat waves ). Droughts can also cause limitations of water supplies, increased water pollution levels, high food-costs, stress caused by failed harvests, water scarcity , etc. Reduced water quality can occur because lower water-flows reduce dilution of pollutants and increase contamination of remaining water sources. This explains why droughts and water scarcity operate as

3431-419: The horrific drought in 2010–2011 in both duration and severity. More than 150 districts in India are drought vulnerable, mostly concentrated in the state of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and its adjoining Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, northern Karnataka and adjoining Maharashtra of the country. Throughout history, humans have usually viewed droughts as disasters due to the impact on food availability and

3504-507: The lack of water in the plants, bushfires are common. Since water vapor becomes more energetic with increasing temperature, more water vapor is required to increase relative humidity values to 100% at higher temperatures (or to get the temperature to fall to the dew point). Periods of warmth quicken the pace of fruit and vegetable production, increase evaporation and transpiration from plants, and worsen drought conditions. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon can sometimes play

3577-475: The month averaged from one inch (25 mm) above normal at St. Louis and Springfield, to between six and seven inches (150 and 180 mm) above normal at Columbia and Kansas City, Missouri. In Iowa, the flood waters brought mass destruction. On July 9, four buildings on Iowa State University 's campus flooded; resulting in over 1.4 million dollars in estimated damages and six weeks of construction to reopen. The college's indoor sports arena, Hilton Coliseum ,

3650-415: The negative effect on the health of people directly exposed to this phenomenon (excessive heat waves), high food costs, stress caused by failed harvests, water scarcity , etc. Drought can also lead to increased air pollution due to increased dust concentrations and wildfires . Prolonged droughts have caused mass migrations and humanitarian crisis . Examples for regions with increased drought risks are

3723-515: The occurrence of droughts has increased as a result of the increase in temperature and atmospheric evaporative demand . In addition, increased climate variability has increased the frequency and severity of drought events. Moreover, the occurrence and impact of droughts are aggravated by anthropogenic activities such as land use change and water management and demand. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report also pointed out that "Warming over land drives an increase in atmospheric evaporative demand and in

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3796-543: The rainforest towards a " tipping point " where it would irreversibly start to die. It concludes that the rainforest is on the brink of being turned into savanna or desert , with catastrophic consequences for the world's climate. According to the WWF , the combination of climate change and deforestation increases the drying effect of dead trees that fuels forest fires. The 1997–2009 Millennium Drought in Australia led to

3869-543: The reduction in plant growth and yields. Another factor influencing reduced plant growth and yields include the allocation of resources; following drought stress plants will allocate more resources to roots to aid in water uptake increasing root growth and reducing the growth of other plant parts while decreasing yields. The most negative impacts of drought for humans include crop failure , food crisis , famine, malnutrition, and poverty , which lead to loss of life and mass migration of people. There are negative effects on

3942-595: The region were near flood stage. Precipitation for the month averaged from one inch (25 mm) above normal in Kansas City , to nearly four inches (100 mm) above normal in Springfield, Missouri . July brought more heavy rain to the Missouri and upper Mississippi River basins in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Illinois, and Minnesota. Rainfall amounts of 5 to 7 inches (130 to 180 millimetres) in 24 hours were common. Precipitation for

4015-451: The rest of society. People have viewed drought as a natural disaster or as something influenced by human activity , or as a result of supernatural forces. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report defines a drought simply as "drier than normal conditions". This means that a drought is "a moisture deficit relative to the average water availability at a given location and season". According to National Integrated Drought Information System ,

4088-495: The river, approaching the levees protecting historic Prairie du Rocher and Fort de Chartres . On August 3, officials decided to break through the stronger Mississippi River levee to allow the water back into the river. The plan worked and the historic areas were saved, although some residential areas were flooded in counties above Prairie du Rocher. The Mississippi River at St. Louis crested at 49.6 feet (15.1 m) on August 1, nearly 20 feet (6.1 m) above flood stage. It had

4161-564: The same time plant growth relies on cellular division, cell enlargement, and differentiation. Drought stress impairs mitosis and cell elongation via loss of turgor pressure which results in poor growth. Development of leaves is also dependent upon turgor pressure, concentration of nutrients, and carbon assimilates all of which are reduced by drought conditions, thus drought stress lead to a decrease in leaf size and number. Plant height, biomass, leaf size and stem girth has been shown to decrease in maize under water limiting conditions. Crop yield

4234-464: The severity of drought events" and "Increased atmospheric evaporative demand increases plant water stress, leading to agricultural and ecological drought". There is a rise of compound warm-season droughts in Europe that are concurrent with an increase in potential evapotranspiration . Higher temperatures increase evaporation. This dries the soil and increases plant stress . Agriculture suffers as

4307-466: The short rains from October to December. The frequent occurrence of hydrological extremes, like droughts and floods , harms the already vulnerable population suffering from severe poverty and economic turmoil. Droughts prompted food shortages for example in 1984–85 , 2006 and 2011 . The Eastern African region experiences the impacts of climate change in different forms. For instance, below-average rainfall occurred for six consecutive rainy seasons in

4380-450: The spatial and temporal changes and variability in drought duration, severity, and magnitude at a much finer scale. This supports the development of site-specific adaptation measures. The application of multiple indices using different datasets helps to better manage and monitor droughts than using a single dataset, This is particularly the case in regions of the world where not enough data is available such as Africa and South America. Using

4453-580: The top. The lake is utilized for many recreational activities in the central Iowa area as well, as there is a large state park infrastructure surrounding the area of the lake, notably Jester Park and Big Creek State Park . The Corps of Engineers operates several recreation areas, campgrounds, and boat ramp facilities around the lake. Boating and swimming are very popular, as are camping, deer and game bird hunting, fishing, hiking, biking and disc golf . Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 4 provides boating safety education and free vessel safety checks to boaters in

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4526-584: The tropics, distinct, wet and dry seasons emerge due to the movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone or Monsoon trough . The dry season greatly increases drought occurrence, and is characterized by its low humidity, with watering holes and rivers drying up. Because of the lack of these watering holes, many grazing animals are forced to migrate due to the lack of water in search of more fertile lands. Examples of such animals are zebras , elephants , and wildebeest . Because of

4599-414: The uptake of nutrients from the soil, and for the transport of nutrients throughout the plant: drought conditions limit these functions leading to stunted growth. Drought stress also causes a decrease in photosynthetic activity in plants due to the reduction of photosynthetic tissues, stomatal closure, and reduced performance of photosynthetic machinery. This reduction in photosynthetic activity contributes to

4672-474: The volume of the 1844 flood, was able to keep the 1993 flood out with just over two feet (0.61 m) to spare. This floodwall was built in the 1960s, to great controversy, out of interlocking prefabricated concrete blocks. Emergency officials estimated that nearly all of the 700 privately built agricultural levees were overtopped or destroyed along the Missouri River. Navigation on the Mississippi and Missouri River had been closed since early July, resulting in

4745-547: The water was not certified potable until July 29. The final usage restrictions were lifted in August. Major sandbagging activities took place along the higher Missouri River, the River des Peres in St. Louis, the Mississippi River south of St. Louis, and on many other tributaries across Missouri and Illinois. Some of these efforts were successful, while others were not. The copious rain during July sent record-setting crests down

4818-465: The west Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific, it causes extensive drought in the western Pacific. Singapore experienced the driest February in 2014 since records began in 1869, with only 6.3 mm of rain falling in the month and temperatures hitting as high as 35 °C on 26 February. The years 1968 and 2005 had the next driest Februaries, when 8.4 mm of rain fell. Globally,

4891-684: The west of the main dam structure. The record high stage for the reservoir was 892.03 feet (271.89 m) above sea level set on July 11, 1993 during the Great Flood of 1993 . Construction of the Saylorville Dam was authorized by Congress in 1958. Excavation began at the site in July 1965, becoming fully operational in September 1977. The dam itself is 6,750 feet (2,057 m) long, 105 feet (32 m) tall, and 44 feet (13 m) wide at

4964-725: The whole Murray-Darling basin if it did not receive sufficient water by October 2008. Australia could experience more severe droughts and they could become more frequent in the future, a government-commissioned report said on July 6, 2008. Australian environmentalist Tim Flannery , predicted that unless it made drastic changes, Perth in Western Australia could become the world's first ghost metropolis , an abandoned city with no more water to sustain its population. The long Australian Millennial drought broke in 2010. East Africa , including for example Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, has

5037-498: The whole towns of Valmeyer, Illinois , and Rhineland, Missouri , were relocated to higher ground. Reports in 1994 set the deaths due to the flood at 38, though this had been revised to 50 deaths by 1996. The fiscal cost is estimated at $ 12–16 billion (equivalent to $ 23–30   billion in 2023). Even after the water was gone, large amounts of sand still covered the farmlands and homes. Over time, channeling and levee construction have altered how floods affect various areas along

5110-513: The wind erosion of loess. In 2005, parts of the Amazon basin experienced the worst drought in 100 years. A 2006 article reported results showing that the forest in its present form could survive only three years of drought. Scientists at the Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research argue in the article that this drought response, coupled with the effects of deforestation on regional climate, are pushing

5183-626: Was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States , along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The flood is among the most costly and devastating to ever occur in the United States, with 50 dead and US$ 12–16   billion in damages (equivalent to $ 23–30   billion in 2023). The hydrographic basin affected an area approximately totaling 320,000 square miles (830,000 km ), of about 745 miles (1,199 km) in length and about 435 miles (700 km) in width. Within this zone,

5256-505: Was above flood stage for 62 days in Jefferson City, Missouri , 77 days at Hermann, Missouri , and for 94 days at St. Charles in the St. Louis metropolitan area. On October 7, 103 days after the flooding began, the Mississippi River at St. Louis finally dropped below flood stage. Approximately 100,000 homes were destroyed as a result of the flooding, 15,000,000 acres (23,000 sq mi; 61,000 km ) of farmland inundated, and

5329-580: Was flooded with as much as fourteen feet of water. From July 11 until July 22, the Des Moines Water Works was flooded by the Raccoon River . This resulted in the plant being powered down, unable to provide running water for that period. On July 13, electricity returned to more than 35,000 residents. That same day President Bill Clinton toured Iowa's capitol and neighboring cities alongside Governor Terry Branstad . He later declared

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