Disasters come in many forms, but some of the most devastating in Allen County history have been floods. In the 20th century, Fort Wayne was affected by two major floods. The Great Flood of 1913 began on March 23rd with 2 inches of rain falling on the city and raising the St. Mary’s River to 20.7’, which was 5’ above flood stage. During the flood, 15,000 citizens were evacuated and more than 5,500 homes and business were flooded by the rivers. The hardest hit neighborhoods were Lakeside, Nebraska, Bloomingdale and Spy Run. By March 26th, the river levels peaked at 26.1’. Not until April 3rd did the river levels drop below flood stage and the city was able to begin to recover.
In the winter of 1981-1982, 81.2” of snow fell on Fort Wayne, the most ever recorded since 1911. In March of 1982, following heavy rains against frozen ground, the rivers flooded to a height of 25.93’, only two-tenths of a foot from the record high set in 1913. The citizens of Fort Wayne came together as “The City That Saved Itself” to build dikes out of sandbags to protect homes, businesses and schools. #sociallyhistory
Appendix 7-C: February 1985 Fort Wayne Flood Summary, excerpts from a paper by Carrol, T.R. and R.D. Marshall, 1985. starting on page 125-130 of 230 pages, G-17 to G-22, lists Four Greatest Fort Wayne Floods 1913, 1978, 1982, 1985 in Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA 116 February 1987 Reducing Loses in High Risk Flood Hazard Areas: A Guide for Local Officials.
USGS Prepared in Cooperation with the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana Flood-Inundation Maps for the St. Marys River at Fort Wayne, Indiana Prepared in Cooperation with the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana Flood-Inundation Maps for the St. Marys River at Fort Wayne, Indiana By Chad D. Menke, Moon H. Kim, and Kathleen K. Fowler Pamphlet to accompany Scientific Investigations Map 3205 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Marcia K. McNutt, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2012.
Rivers On A Rampage - Recent Rains Cause Floods in all the Streams - St. Mary's and St. Joe Over Their Banks With Prospects for Record-Breaking Floods was the headline April 14, 1903 in the Fort Wayne News newspaper article April 14, 2014 discussion on the original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook.
Did you know Indiana has a flood insurance website where you can learn about flood risk, flood insurance, and mitigation activities? This site is joint project developed by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana Department of Insurance and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Water. Check it out at IN.gov/floodinsurance.
