Viking_Yearbook_94

Summer 1993 Midwest U.S. Associated Press I t was the biggest, wettest story of the summer. The floods fhaf washed across the Midwest may have been the worst in American history, and they captured the concern of fhe people across fhe nation. The great flood was fhe sfory fhaf interesfed mosf Americans in fhe summer of '93, wifh nearly two out of three telling pollsters that they followed fhe story "very closely" on a par with attention paid in years past to the Persian Gulf War. The sfage for disasfer was set during the winter, when unusually heavy snow fell. There were no midwinter thaws, so the snow melted rapidly as spring arrived, causing record flooding. Then the rains came. In Des Moines, more than 32 inches fell by the end of July, compared with the 18.7 average in a year. The casualties ranged from thousands left homeless to investors and consumers in every corner of fhe U.S. Some farm produce prices rose and insurers had fo pay ouf millions in compensafion. 44