1993 Mississippi Record Stages and Levee Failures

by Sally McConkey, Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Hydraulic Engineering

Abstract:

Record-setting stages, flooding duration, and multiple levee failures are distinguishing features of the Mississippi River 1993 flood. The peak stages reached at stations along the Illinois border were preceded by an extended period of high river levels exceeding flood stage. Multiple levee failures during July and August created a distinctive signature on the stage records at stations downstream from the levee breaches. Sudden and significant drops in river levels are coincident with levee failures. The stages recorded at gaging stations along the Mississippi provide a key record of the severity and duration of this historic flood.

Subject Headings: Floods | Failure analysis | Levees and dikes | Dam failures | Rivers and streams | Flow measurement | Water level | United States | Mississippi | Mississippi River | Illinois

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